Our History | Pawn America

Check out our history in this timeline

1991: First store opened.

1994: The company expands, opening stores in Robbinsdale, Burnsville, Hopkins, and Roseville.

1995 – 1999: Pawn America® opens six more Minnesota locations in Bloomington, Duluth, Fridley, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Paul Midway, and West St. Paul.

Pawn America® in the 2000s

2000: Intensive study of retail and marketing brought about a sweeping change creating a first-of-its-kind pawn store featuring a contemporary retail environment inside and out. The company does NOT compare itself to other pawn stores, but to large retail chains such as BEST BUY and TARGET.

2000: The company begins advertising on television.

2000: Pawn America® opens additional stores in Fridley and Coon Rapids.

2000: Pawn America® opens a subsidiary industrial loan company called PAYDAY AMERICA. Three locations are launched in Bloomington, St. Paul, and Roseville. PAYDAY stores in Rochester, Robbinsdale, Anoka, St. Cloud, Mankato, Duluth, and Burnsville are opened in the next five years.

2003: Pawn America® launches CashPass, the first MasterCard debit card product in the United States that ultimately provides customers with an FDIC-insured savings account.

2005: The CashPass card allows customers to make loan payments via telephone.

2005: Fridley Pawn America® becomes the largest pawn store in the Midwest.

2005: Pawn America® offers jobs and housing to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

2005: Pawn America® sends a former employee off to Iraq with thousands of DVDs for American servicemen and women. A thousand more DVDs were also sent to Afghanistan.

2006: Pawn America® opens a 12,000 square-foot Sioux Falls, SD store—its first in South Dakota.

2006: Pawn America® expands its portfolio by offering low-cost, high-dollar loans.

2006: Pawn America® cuts loan fees on large loans by 60%.

2006: Pawn America® issues its 1,000,000th loan.

2006: Pawn America® supports KIDS FEEDING KIDS, a Boys & Girls Club program that teaches nutrition and restaurant skills while assuring that club kids don’t go hungry.

2007: Company opens first PAYDAY location outside Minnesota in Sioux Falls, SD.

2007: Brad Rixmann, Founder of Pawn America®, named Pawnbroker of the Year by the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA).

2008: Pawn America® opens Onalaska, WI store—its 16th location and first in Wisconsin.

2008: Pawn America® introduces its paper or plastic program, offering up to 25% additional loan proceeds when customers utilize the CashPass Debit Card.

2008: Pawn America® opens Fargo, ND store—its 20th location and first in North Dakota.

2008: Pawn America® befriends the University of Minnesota Medical Center Fairview Transitional Care Unit while providing “Holiday Wish List” care package.

2009: Pawn America® becomes founding partner in the launch of the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation (HCSF).

2009: Pawn America® offers the first HCSF Scholarship for aspiring students in local law enforcement programs.

2009: Pawn America® opens second Kids Feeding Kids kitchen at St. Paul's East Side Boys & Girls Club location.

2009: Pawn America® adopts Original Recyclers message as part of its corporate green-friendly initiative.

2009: Pawn America® partners with Sodexo, General Mills, and Second Harvest Heartland in launching Feeding Our Future in coordination with the Kids Feeding Kids initiative.

2009: Pawn America® partners with Onalaska Police Department providing LeadsOnline service in support of local law enforcement.

2009: Pawn America® opens its 21st location in Appleton, WI.

2009: Pawn America® is named a recipient of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Growth 50 Award, signifying the company as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Twin Cities metro area.

2009: Pawn America® is named a 2009 recipient of the Jefferson Award for Corporate Philanthropy, a national award honoring the company for its charitable causes.

Pawn America in the 2010s

2010: Pawn America® hosts 4th Annual Martin Luther King Day celebration in South Minneapolis.

2010: Pawn America® receives ad endorsement from MN Twin Michael Cuddyer in support of Kids Feeding Kids program.

2010: Pawn America® launches Curb-Side Computer Collection Program in Rochester in support oif its PCs for People partnership.

2010: Pawn America® develops the Pawn America® Transformation Challenge, a corporate wellness program to improve the health and well-being of its employees.

2010: Pawn America® opens its largest store, a 33,000 square-foot location in Madison, WI.

2010: Pawn America® launches the Pawn Squad, a corporate effort to further engage employees in the community volunteer opportunities.

2010: Pawn America® partners with the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD) by hosting the Whittier Storefront Project launch event.

2010: Pawn America® is again named a recipient of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Growth 50 Award.

2010: Pawn America® receives the 2010 FiSCA Activa Award, honoring outstanding examples of positive community involvement.

2011: Pawn America® opens an additional store in Eau Claire, WI.

2011: Pawn America® is named a recipient of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Growth 50 Award for the third straight year.

2011: Pawn America is selected as a Star Tribune 2011 Top Workplace.

2011: Pawn America is named a recipient of the Twin Cities Business Journal's “Small-Business Success Stories Award.”

2012: Pawn America® opens an additional store in Inver Grove Heights, MN.

2012: Pawn America® is named a recipient of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Growth 50 Award for the fourth consecutive year.

2012– 2013: Pawn America® supports the opening of three additional Kids Feeding Kids kitchens in the Twin Cities Boys & Girls Clubs.

2013: Pawn America® opens additional stores in West Allis, WI, Ashwaubenon (Green Bay), WI, and St. Paul, MN.

2013: Payday America® opens in Hopkins, MN.

2013: Pawn America® opens new Mankato, MN store.

2013: Brad Rixmann named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

2013: Pawn America® supports the opening of Kids Feeding Kids kitchens in the newly constructed Rochester, MN Boys & Girls Club.

2013: Brad Rixmann is named Burnsville Chamber of Commerce's Businessperson of the Year.

2013: Brad Rixmann receives the Robert Klas Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Dakota County Workforce Investment Board

2013: Pawn America® launches a new retail concept called PA Exchange in St. Paul and Hopkins.

2015: Pawn America is recognized as Business of the Year by the River Heights Chamber of Commerce.

2016: Pawn America recognized as a Star Tribune 2016 Top Workplace