AUGUST 11 • 2022 | 39

Eventually, he explained, his accumulation of 
items outpaced his ability to store his wares.
“I was selling online, like on eBay, Depop 
(another peer-to-peer selling platform), 
Facebook, wherever I could generate sales out of 
my college dorm,” Ryan says, adding how, when 
he returned to the Detroit area, his vast inven-
tory allowed him to not only sell directly to the 
public but also provide wholesale lots to the 
many vintage stores in the area. “I had too much 
merchandise to store, and it got to a point when 
I was living at my mother’s house ... I amassed 
so much inventory I had to get my own house 
because there was nowhere else to put it all.” 
Ryan credits his brother Dylan as the catalyst 
to pivot from just online retailing and whole-
sale supply to also opening a store of their own. 
The younger Burke brother, who began work-
ing the trade shows that Ryan would produce 
and host at the Huntington Bank Center (the 
former Cobo Hall), soon realized he, too, had a 
knack for what makes something unique.
“Dylan started vending our booths for us at 
the vintage exchanges and just grew a passion 
for it,” Ryan says. “He’s a big sports guy and 
has a real eye for items that are special,” not-
ing rare colors and unique graphics associated 
with sports merchandise. “I had 
wanted to open the store for a 
while, and Dylan was kind of the 
push behind it to be like, ‘Yeah, 
let’s do it.’”
Being the younger entrepre-
neur, Dylan offers significant 
deference toward his older broth-
er while echoing the value of an 
item’s backstory. “I just think 
backstories are cool, so, as far as 
like the sports T-shirts go, I make 
a good connection with them 
since it makes me think of that year 
and whatever, which also helps in the sale.”
The Burke brothers’ store is atypical of many typical 
vintage shops insofar as it’s free of must, clutter and a 
prototypically indifferent sales staff. These young men 
love interacting with customers, which was evidenced 
by the 30 minutes each spent with a woman who ended 
up buying nothing but left the store happy.
“People love to talk, and we enjoy every conver-
sation,” Ryan says, explaining that by the items sold, 
everyone has a story and those stories are critical to 
moving merchandise. “We restock at least 20 to 50 
items every single night. You know there’s usually not 
an item that lasts on a rack for more than two weeks ... 
that way we can keep the inventory fresh.”
The Vintage Vault, located at 38 14 Mile Road just 
east of Main Street in downtown Clawson, is currently 
open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday. 

TOP: Brothers Dylan (left) and 
Ryan Burke, 21 and 24, opened 
their resale shop The Vintage 
Vault in downtown Clawson at 
the end of June 2022 and have 
enjoyed brisk business from 
shoppers who crave authentic 
retro wares. LEFT: Vintage is 
a serious business that does 
not come cheap. This 1992 
“Lollapalooza” music festival 
T-shirt is priced at $200.