"You know you are going to be famous one day. Way more famous than me. I am going to have to follow your career."
Brett Pesce was enthralled as he watched a video of a young New Jersey Devils fan playing the drums on the iPhone placed in front of him. Stefan Noesen looked on with a smirk on his face, as he was already familiar with the boy and his musical talents.
Pesce, who is not a big social media user, quickly went on his phone and followed the young fan on Instagram, confirming he will, in fact, follow his musical career.
This type of interaction may not occur at most autograph signings, but at Sports Minded Unlimited in Warren, New Jersey, a memory like that is par for the course.
Since its opening in 1987, the sports memorabilia store has evolved into more than four walls filled with merchandise. Over the years, founder and owner Brian LeBoeuf saw his customers evolve into acquaintances and his business grow into a tight-knit community.
"I have been to multiple signings over the past few years, with my first one being Nico Hischier years ago," Devils season ticket holder Jillian Luciano shared. "They are very organized and make it quick and easy to get in and out. They have a large variety of merchandise for people to shop while they are waiting, and it is just a really nice environment here."
LeBoeuf became a fixture at all his store's signings, walking around with his signature smile and warm presence, ensuring each person at Sports Minded Unlimited was attended to. His wife, Marguerite, was also on-site in the store, working alongside her husband in the background to make sure the events went smoothly, which they always did.
It wasn't until she got older that LeBoeuf's daughter, Emily, started spending time at her father's store. When she was 13 years old, she remembered her father hosting a Zach Parise signing. It was at that moment that she realized how cool her father was, a sentiment that you wouldn't often hear from most teenage girls.
"We had a Zach Parise signing in 2008, Emily recalled. "I was obsessed with the guy, and right then, I felt my dad was the biggest, craziest human being for even starting to do these events. I thought he was the coolest person ever.
"Then, when I was 16 or 17, was when I really started to go hang out at the store," she continued. "When I got my driver's license, I would hang out on a Saturday afternoon at the store instead of at my house."
Those attending Devils signings became familiar with every member of the LeBoeuf family, with Brian and Emily naturally taking center stage as they made their rounds, greeting hockey fans and making sure their athletes were comfortable and well taken care of.
As the season changed and years turned into decades, Sports Minded Unlimited grew, as did LeBoeuf's legacy.
In October of 2020, Brian was diagnosed with Stage 4 Brain Cancer. After a 10-month battle, Brian peacefully passed away on July 12th, surrounded by his loving family.
The small store located on Washington Valley Road once again became more than four walls filled with merchandise. It became Emily's connection to her father.
"Emily had a very special relationship with her father, and she always did," an emotional Marguerite shared. "Continuing his legacy was the most important thing to her."
Emily has an established career in a different field. Since her father's passing, she has taken on the responsibility of the store with the sole purpose of continuing what Brian built.
"Sometimes, I have no idea what I am doing running a business," Emily candidly said. "I think if it were any other type of business, I would have just closed it. (...) I am not in this for the money; I will be the first to say it is not about the money. My dad built this legacy, everyone knew him, and it is one of the only retail stores left in Warren."
In her efforts to honor her father's memory and lifelong work, Emily approaches the store and its signings with the same love and detail that Brian did decades prior, integrating herself into the community she now serves.
"When I was with the Devils the first go around, I was asked to come and do a signing - something I had never done before," Noesen said. "Coming in here, I didn't really know what to expect, and it is just a really awesome mom-and-pop shop.
"Her old man was such a good guy," The winger continued, "and that is when I met Emily. When he passed, and she took over the store, she continues to make it easy. You feel like you have known them forever. It is just a really cool feeling to come back here and do this with them. It is kind of a full circle, too, now that my daughter is in Emily's dance class."
As Noesen and Pesce sat at their respective tables, thanking fans and signing autographs, Emily made her rounds. Over the two-hour signing, she greeted customers who had become friends, and asked the two Devils players if they needed a mid-afternoon coffee - something Noesen, a father of two young children, couldn't pass up.
Quietly standing behind the counter was, of course, Marguerite, who looked at her daughter radiating the same pride that Herb Brooks displayed watching his team win the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
"The biggest thing is looking back at the history of the store, and understanding the amount of people who have come through here and look at this as something bigger than an autograph signing," Emily's fiancé, Steve Sharpe, said. "It is this community that her dad fostered.
"I really only knew Emily after she took on the responsibility of the store," he continued. "I have seen her build this community even further. This is a place where they want to make sure people really feel like they are being valued from a customer service standpoint, as well as being able to say, look, we met Noesen or Pesce, and had time to talk to him, and, of course, we are getting a photograph as well. That means the world to Emily."
Framed autograph photos line the walls. Licensed team apparel fill the racks. A large selection of trading cards is encased in the counter. Just like Brian, it is Emily's passion and love that bring the store to life when the lights switch on and the doors unlock for the general public.
"We walk into the store and feel his presence," Marguerite said. "This is our way to keep Brian here."
"I wouldn't mentally be okay if I closed the store," Emily added.
The foundation of what Brian has built can be summed up by three words: quality, family, and heritage. It is something Emily is reminded of when complete strangers ask about her father all these years later.
"Someone came in last week and said, 'I haven't been here in 20 years, and I was in the area, and wanted to see if you still existed.'"
Of course, they follow that by asking for one specific person, Brian.
While it is not always easy, Emily has found a purpose stepping into her father's footsteps.
"I will get those opinions where people say, 'If I were you, I wouldn't be able to do it. How can you walk through that door every day? It is a constant reminder,' she said.
"For me, I wouldn't have it any other way."
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Photo Credit: Kristy Flannery (The Hockey News)