MANSFIELD — Anyone wanting to relive gaming with their friends without their parents asking them to do chores will feel at home at Uncommon Nostalgia.

Owners Joe James and Rodney Zellner celebrated their new gaming lounge with a ribbon cutting on Thursday. The business expanded into 36 W. 4th St. after opening next door in June.

The larger space has allowed more room for customers to walk around, expanded displays of merchandise and a new vintage gaming lounge.

The lounge is complete with three TVs, consoles with preloaded games, two 1970s pinball machines and “multi-cade” machines with more than 300 arcade game options.

Lounge console options are Atari, Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox. Customers can also bring their own consoles to hook up to TVs if they wish.

Each TV has its own seating for individuals, families or other groups to play together. The cost is $10 per hour, per person. James also said the team is willing to stay open past their regular hours if someone wants to rent out the lounge.

“Just let us know and we can accommodate that, even if it’s a birthday party or something on a Sunday,” he said. 

Uncommon Nostalgia has also added retro candy, drinks and snacks for sale. Gaming Lounge customers get a 10% discount on the food and drink items.

“Our retro snack bar is pretty fun,” James said. “A couple from Columubs bought probably half our Creme Savers out because she said she hadn’t seen them in forever.”

Owners thank community for its support

The gaming lounge also has a Ghostbusters mural with a glow-in-the-dark Slimer painted by Allison Pence. Her work is also throughout the store on the window and in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mario Brothers wall art.

James said people are welcome to come into the lounge to work or read a comic book as well.

Jodie Perry, chief operating officer for the Richland Area Chamber, congratulated Uncommon Nostalgia on its quick growth.

“It’s so awesome to have a business that is doing so well that they’re expanding quickly and adding more opportunities,” she said.

Fifth Ward City Councilman Aurelio Diaz said he’s looking forward to the shop’s expanded inventory and gaming lounge.

“It’s a good sign of the times of where we’re heading when a business can expand so quickly like this,” he said. “I think what you’re offering is really awesome and exciting, fun for all ages.”

The shop continues to specialize in ’80s, ’90s and 2000s nostalgia, including clothing, video games, vinyl and VHS tapes. The shop will start to carry shoes in its new space.

James has also started offering console, DVD and CD repair services.

“I’m focusing on Atari through PlayStation 3,” he said. “Initial diagnosis is $25, which goes toward your bill. And I’ll check cords and the display ports first to see if it’s that simple of an issue.”

Zellner thanked the community and his wife Tiffany for supporting the team through the move.

“We cannot thank the community enough,” he said. “We kept asking people what they liked and what we’re doing wrong, and it was one of those things where we wanted to know what we were doing wrong, because that’s how we grow. 

“We’re really excited to collaborate with these phenomenal local businesses and continue to serve the community.”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Uncommon Nostalgia is located at 36 W. 4th St.

Customers can find the store on Facebook and uncommonnostalgia.com, or call 419-564-5642.