The Mayor of Walsall, Councillor Louise Harrison, officially unveiled the new store called The Card Loft located in the town’s Victorian Arcade and it’s already been proving quite a draw for youngsters and young at heart adults alike.
Cllr Harrison said of the new venture: “It is lovely, it’s what people want nowadays, the kids want this kind of thing going on.”
She said the shop had been proving busy on opening day, adding: “I opened the door and I had to stand and let about 30 people through – which is good.”
Damian Chapman, aged 30, from Walsall, has opened the new venture – having long dreamed of being his own boss.
He told the Express & Star: “It’s quite poetic. I used to come here as a young boy, there was a shop in here and we used to come, me and my brother, after school and buy our Pokémon cards.”
He added: “We’ve tried to create a modern space for all types of adults – youngish children or people of my generation who like to collect or even play the games.
“We offer a wide range of trading cards – Pokémon, Magic, Dragonball, Lorcana – we have the majority of them.
“We’ve also got the loft area upstairs, where we hope to host community events – for people to come, play the games and open their cards.”
He hopes the shop will buck the trend in Walsall and help to bring people into the town which has seen more than its fair share of closures.
Walsall was recently named the second lowest rated area in England to start a business and a recent news report told how it currently has more than 20 empty shopping units.
Damian said he was aware of the “negativity around the town centre” but stressed it didn’t put him off pursuing his dream to run his own business in his hometown.
He believes there’s enough footfall in the town thanks to the college and that people will travel to the specialist shop.
So far there’s been a steady stream of people coming through the door.
He said: “It’s been really good. It was really busy on Saturday and the arcade is closed on a Sunday but when we opened again on Monday I was really surprised and pleased at how busy it was.”
