Frank Stanchek, Jr., Glenside’s king of nostalgia, is a happy guy. He gets to do what he loves: buy, sell, trade and repair video game systems, consoles, screens, and just about any gadget or gizmo you can imagine.
As word has spread about Classic Game Junkie’s knack for rebuilding and repairing anything under the sun, the family-owned shop has seen a wider variety of customers.
“People bring us everything at this point,” he said. “Key fobs, stuff from the ’60s and ’70s. We customize and upgrade older consoles to work with today’s technology, so we do a lot of that, too. We can modify an old Nintendo with an HDMI output. We can take a Gameboy from the ’90s and upgrade it with a newer quality screen so that you can see it better. People love customizing their stuff. It’s hot.”
Since Classic Game Junkie’s grand opening in 2010, Frank, his wife Nichole, and his dad, Frank Sr., have created a local paradise for retro gamers, one which has attracted celebrities of the gaming world (The Angry Video Game Nerd, Scott the Woz, The Game Chasers, and Mike Matei to name a few).
“They love our shop. We meet through shows. We do what they do,” Frank said. “We try to build a place that people want, and they seem to really enjoy it.”
Classic Game Junkie was recently featured in an episode of Beat ‘Em Ups with Wood Hawker, Ethan Page, and Instagram’s Charlie. “I ran into Wood at Too Many Games, a video game expo in Oaks. They were in the area, and we have a beautiful location for them to film and have a good time,” Frank said. “We’re both into retro games and they were drawn to that vibe.”
111 S Easton Road wouldn’t be the same without it.
“Video games have been a large part of my life, so I was always into this stuff. I always had a knack for repairs, and I went to school for engineering. I found a much more fun way to use that and make a good living while doing it. I got lucky,” he said. “Business has been fantastic, and Glenside has been very kind to me and my family. I couldn’t do this without my wife and my pops running the storefront. We try to hire local people, and we’ve become very close to the customer base.”
For more on Classic Game Junkie, you can check out their website and Facebook page. For more on Frank, you can watch this cheeky interview with JJLomasEntertainment:
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