Vintage game, clothing stores open new Manchester location

“Between both of our shops being under the same roof now, we have a little bit of everything. I think anyone, whether your young or old, can come in here and between both of us, find something that’s nostalgic, something that hits home and something that makes you happy,” Taksar said.

Retro Junk sells items like vintage video games, trading cards, old magazines, comics, music records and action figures. Some of the brands the store carries are Pokémon, Nintendo, G.I. Joe, LEGO, Funko Pop!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Masters of the Universe.

“I do old-school Nintendo Power magazines, video games ranging from original Nintendo all the way up to more current stuff,” Farr said.

Natural Selection Vintage specializes in clothing from before 2000. Some of the items for sale are T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and leather jackets. 

“Mostly my shop sells 80s and 90s fashion. Personally, I love a lot of older stuff, I just wish it was easier to find stuff from the 50s and 60s,” Taksar said. “If I think someone will like it I will try and get it in the shop regardless of what it is.” 

The new storefront also has a lounge, which Farr said could be used to play video games, since he has “every console ever made,” or a classic movie on a VHS tape. The location also has retro arcade machines for guests to play Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man’s Arcade Party and Golden Axe. Farr plans to add more arcade games in the future. 

“A lot of the time I’ll probably have my Switch hooked up because it’s the easiest and already has the retro game library on it as well. And then I have the newer stuff like NES and Super NES Classic. It’s really whatever we’re feeling like playing on a certain day,” Farr said.

Farr said that his love of vintage items started in his childhood. He started the business online before selling at a Manchester flea market and the Manchester Mall Shopping Center. 

“Everything that I had when I was a kid I still have. From toys to clothes to video games, everything,” Farr said. “I would go to tag sales and stuff with my mom and my grandmother when I was younger and kept adding to the collection.” 

Similar to Farr, Taksar gained a love of vintage clothing when he was a kid and started an online store. And it was actually Farr who inspired him to open a physical store after he visited Retro Junk.

“I was probably in his shop for an hour or two just chomping his ear off. We were both kind of the same in the way we were doing everything online on eBay for so long. At that time I hadn’t even thought of a brick-and-mortar store,” Taksar said. “We were a couple of nerds and we found each other and it’s been working out ever since.”

The storefront will be open Wednesday through Saturday with potential plans for an expanded schedule.

“I’m getting to the same place that Brandon is at now where people sort of bring him stuff. He’s enough of a fixture in town now that people just know that he’s here. It’s slowly happening for me too, where people are slowly cleaning out their closet or basement and they come see me before they dump it off at the Goodwill. The more we can do that, the more days we can be here and be open,” Taksar said.