MONROE — Two recent Mall of Monroe business owners have already opened second mall stores.
He just opened a second store, Disctopia. The two are adjacent.
“I call it geek corner,” said Barger, an Ypsilanti native who now lives in Monroe.
“We had comics and a few games (in Wonderworld Comics). It was nostalgia and it proved the concept worked. I had a little bit of video, vinyl, anime, manga in the first store,” Barger said.
Disctopia expands on the nostalgia concept and offers vintage music in several formats, retro snacks and video games. Some of his inventory literally came from his childhood.
“Remember when your mom threw away all your toys? Well, my mom didn’t,” Barger said.
His mom kept everything in the basement while Barger was in college. Then, she made him clean it out.
“They were downsizing because I was out,” Barger said.
Some of his friends found themselves in similar situations, and he bought their old games.
Barger said Disctopia appeals to three generations. He said today’s kids learn about retro gaming systems like Atari on YouTube.