A new store, Super Retro Land, is now open to sell old-fashioned video games and game systems.
The store sells older generation gaming systems, such as GameCube and Atari, as well as video games and themed merchandise from popular movies and television series during the 1990s. Super Retro Land, 1002 E. State St., opened its Athens location April 1.
Alex and Eli Tracewell turned their hobbies of trading and selling old video games into a store in 2015. The Tracewell brothers are from Parkersburg, West Virginia. Alex left his job as a firefighter in order to pursue his career as a store owner.
“My business is a nostalgic sensory overload,” Alex said. “When you walk in, you get intertwined with all the things you remember as a kid.”
The first Super Retro Land was opened in November 2015 in Parkersburg. Having done so well with their first store in Parkersburg, the brothers came up with a plan to build three more stores within two years.
“We are going to build four stores in two years, (the Athens store) would be the second,” Alex said.
Construction started on the Athens store March 15, and the brothers had about two weeks before opening day to get everything set up, Alex said.
“The biggest challenge is time,” Alex said. “Having only a little bit of time to set up a lot is hard.”
The location behind Texas Roadhouse was not Alex’s first choice. He had looked at a location on Court Street, which would have been “easy,” but he decided he wanted the challenge of having the store in the strip mall.
For marketing and advertising, Alex relies on Facebook and word of mouth.
“I don’t believe in advertising. It’s overrated,” Alex said. “On Facebook, anyone can see it and the visuals help to draw people in.”
The Athens store does not have as many items as the Parkersburg location does. The Parkersburg location also has themed rooms, but the Athens store is more open, Alex said.
The Tracewell brothers employ four people in their stores, most of whom travel back and forth between the two locations when needed.
Logan Heermans, an employee for about 8 months, sometimes travels from Parkersburg to Athens.
“I meet a lot of interesting people,” Heermans said. “A guy I worked with knew Alex and told me about them opening up the store, so I came on opening day.”
Avery Ruth, an employee for about a year, has been going to the original store since they opened and believes the store can open pretty much anywhere.
“We are going to build it up through trade-ins,” Beth said. “I hope it’s better than the one in Parkersburg.”
