A La Porte County Life in the Spotlight: Todd Zelko

Todd Zelko and his family opened High Heat Cards & Collectibles this fall. They were inspired by Zelko’s hobby of collecting sports cards and other memorabilia.

“I always dreamed of having my own business because my dad also had his own business,” Zelko said. “We had our soft openings on Labor Day, and we had our grand opening on September 12.”

Prior to establishing a brick and mortar store, Zelko traveled to local trade shows selling cards and other collectibles. This portion of the business was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, his business started out solely selling sports cards and has diversified since.

Though in varying degrees, as a family business, each member is actively involved, including the Zelkos’ three children. 

“I have three children. My daughter, Rylie, is here four to five days a week, and this is her main job,” Zelko said. “My oldest son, Gavin, helps out more on a smaller scale. My youngest, Adler, is a sophomore in high school, and he’ll help out here and there when he can.”

Zelko’s wife, Kimberly, is also highly involved and at the store nearly every day.

Prior to establishing High Heat Cards & Collectibles’ brick and mortar store, Zelko was able to get a sense of the market from traveling to trade shows throughout the years, his active involvement in the community, and his high-level of experience with general collectibles as a hobby. This popularity is true, even for the youth segment of the market.

“It’s a very big market, and the kids are really big into it, too,” Zelko said.

Many of the cards sold by High Heat Cards & Collectibles are non-sports related. This is partly due to the resurgence of Pokémon. However, no matter if the cards or other memorabilia are sports related or not, they vary in cost. 

“It’s a very wide-range of pricing,” he said. “There are things that go for pennies all the way to the thousands.”

Zelko believes that everyone should have access to trading cards and collectibles.

“The hobby is for everyone, so we want to make it affordable for everyone,” he said.

Zelko is thrilled to be able to build his business locally. He cares about the community and its families.

“I’m all about the community and family,” Zelko said.

Zelko has truly turned his hobby into a business. Simultaneously, he is able to live out his dream of owning his own business and, perhaps equally as gratifying, building and growing it right in his hometown.