After opening on Star Wars Day this past May 4, Nerd Pros owner Marcus Read has finally finished the expansion renovations he had in mind when he first opened his downtown Morton trading card game (TCG) and collectables shop.
Now, local gamers have more tables to play TCGs such as Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Star Wars: Unlimited at the additional tables available. Or, customers can use the space to custom paint their Warhammer figures or play Dungeons & Dragons with friends.
Additionally, Nerd Pros is now open on Sundays.
Local gamers were playing both Magic and painting Warhammer when The Chronicle visited on Sunday, Oct. 12, to check out the newly expanded store.
“We’ve doubled our retail space and we’ve doubled our play space,” Marcus said.
Located at 171 Main Ave. in downtown Morton, Nerd Pros is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 to 7 p.m. every Sunday.
“We’re possibly going to be open on Wednesdays from 2 to 7 p.m. as well. We’re still working on making that happen, but that is our goal,” he added.
A retired pastor and self-professed, life-long nerd, Marcus opened up Nerd Pros with his wife, Alissa Read, to both indulge his own nerdy obsessions and to create a space for local gamers to play.
In fact, they’re even partnering with the Morton Community Bible Church to host game nights at the store.
“They’ve been running family game nights for a while, but we’ve got some really good board games for kids and families,” Marcus said. “Like Let’s Hit Each Other With Fake Swords, Exploding Pigeon, Anarchy Pancakes — there’s a lot of good board games for families.”
On top of the newly expanded store and board game collection, they’ve expanded their sports card selection and sell vintage video games.
“We also just secured a deal with Hasbro to have them distribute to us as well, so we’re going to have Beyblades and things like that, collectable toys,” Marcus said.
They’re still partnering with other local card shops throughout the region to keep popular TCGs such as Pokémon in stock, working with AllTech Electronics in Centralia to help customers looking to repair vintage video game consoles or other electronics.
With the newly expanded space, the bulk card section will be moved and grow, and if you visit now, you might also notice a stereo system and record player set up.
The Reads are now planning to host events aside from TCG and Warhammer painting nights, starting with a Halloween celebration on Saturday, Oct. 25, featuring a costume contest at 2 p.m. and a cosplay contest at 3:30 p.m.
The difference being the costume contest is reserved for premade costumes purchased ready to go, while anyone looking to enter the cosplay contest must be able to show they hand-made at least 65% of their costume.
“It can be a kid working in conjunction with an adult, like if they’re putting in servos or any type of animatronics. They can have wings that move or LED lights, leatherwork, sewing, 3D modeling. It can be (EVA) Foam armor, any of that kind of stuff that is considered part of cosplay.”
Cosplay judging will be carried out by Society for Creative Anachronism members, Marcus added. Prizes will be available for winners of both the costume and cosplay contests.
After the cosplay and costume contests, a game night will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Then on Halloween itself — Friday, Oct. 31 — Nerd Pros will be hosting a “Haunted Magic Tournament,” beginning at 7 p.m.
“We’ll have spooky music playing and be handing out tricks and treats, and we’ll have card packs for the kids when they come by,” Marcus said.
Those interested in selling their card or collectibles to Nerd Pros can still do so, though Marcus and Alissa ask to be contacted on Facebook to set up an appointment first.
For more information, message them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NerdPros/ or call 360-492-7060.
