Nerd Pros co-owners Marcus and Alissa Read are preparing to celebrate their business’s first year in Morton.
The shop held its official grand opening on May 3, 2025, and, since then, the community support has inspired the Reads.
"My wife went on Facebook and asked about renting retail space in Morton, and it just snowballed from there," Marcus wrote on Facebook. "We had no idea how fast it would grow … It's a place for people to come and meet, for friends to congregate, and people to connect with one another. It really helps build bridges."
One of those connections is a new hire at Nerd Pros, Damon Hanger, a fellow trading card game (TCG) enthusiast now helping the Reads grow the business over its first year.
"Damon was the missing piece Nerd Pros needed. He is friendly and has a good pulse on the card market. He sells on eBay as well as going to card shows. He brings a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge to the table," Marcus said.
As for what’s happening to celebrate their first year in business, exact details weren’t released, but “there are a lot of great card game releases. It's basically going to be a party all month long in May," Marcus added.
Nerd Pros’ foundation is as a TCG shop, and along with selling Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney Lorcana and more, the Reads recently added both the Kayou and the Adventures in Equestria My Little Pony TCGs to Nerd Pros’ selection.
It is now an official Play! Pokémon store, too, meaning players can participate in special new Pokémon TCG set pre-release events and official tournaments at Nerd Pros.
In fact, a Pokémon pre-release tournament was just held on Saturday, March 21, for the new Perfect Order set — where players got special pre-release packages, which included a full playable deck featuring cards from the set, a special collectable promotional card and several booster packs.
Aside from growing a steady base of customers buying cards, the store has expanded to accommodate tables for TCG tournaments and more.
There are now weekly club tournament days, including Magic: The Gathering on Fridays from 2 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 3 to 7 p.m.; Pokémon tournaments on Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m.; Flesh and Blood TCG tournaments on Sundays from 2:30 to 4 p.m.; Warhammer paint and play sessions on Sundays from 2 to 7 p.m.
Additionally there are Dungeons & Dragons sessions, with separate all-ages and adults-only groups, held on alternating Fridays starting at 5:30 p.m.
Those who don’t know how to play these games are invited to come anyway, as Nerd Pros offers instructions on how to play along with a deck-building section where new players can find used cards to assemble playable decks for $10 or less.
Card collectors are also always invited to bring their collections to trade with other collectors or see if Marcus and Hanger are interested in trading themselves or buying the collection outright. More growth is being planned by the Reads.
It’s not just TCG collectors who can find cards to add to their portfolios, as Nerd Pros keeps a selection of sports cards in stock, both modern and vintage sets.
There’s a plethora of other nerd memorabilia for sale, too, from classic Nintendo Entertainment System game cartridges and other vintage video games, to Star Wars collectable figures and official Force FX Lightsabers, a variety of local artisan-made game accessories like custom dice and deck cases, and more.
While the newly established Morton Action Sports Alliance is focused on bringing a new skate park to Morton in order to provide more outdoor activities for locals, Marcus and Alissa remain focused on nurturing a space for family-friendly indoor games for all the rainy days in town over the past year.
And they have plans to continue its growth.
“We have some ideas in place, some really cool things we are excited to bring to Morton and to the shop. We are so grateful to our customers — they feel more like family, and we want to show our appreciation for their support,” said Marcus. “We are committed to offering a quality gaming experience for all ages and abilities of gamers, and we feel this next step and next year are going to allow us to do that on an even larger scale."
A self-professed, life-long nerd ever since “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” was released in 1977, Marcus is a retired pastor who originally got into TCGs in the late 1990s when Pokémon was first becoming popular.
He discovered that collecting and playing it was a good way to build relationships with people in his ministry. Marcus learns how to play all of the TCGs they sell cards for as well, not just Pokémon.
“Never peddle a card game you don’t know how to play,” he previously told The Chronicle.
He first started selling TCG items on eBay in 2002 as a form of supplemental income for the family.
Now, not only is Nerd Pros helping pay the bills, but the Reads hope it continues growing into an indoor hangout spot to help keep local youth out of trouble.
Nerd Pros is located at 171 Main Ave. in downtown Morton. It is open Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 7 p.m.
For more information, follow or message the business on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NerdPros, on TikTok at @nerd_pros, on Instagram at @nerdprosgaming, or call 360-492-7060 during normal business hours.
