Fernando Amorim, 37, of Glenside, launched Vice City Collectibles with his wife, Heather, in December 2024.
The shop exists to the right of the Ez Stop gas station at 532 N Easton Road in Abington Township.
Fernando concurrently runs a landscaping business, American Muscle Landscaping, and hopes the new shop takes off enough for him to commit to selling retro goodies full-time.
Setting foot inside the space feels like a time warp, full of sights and sounds that haven’t been mainstream in decades. An avid collector of retro video games and VHS tapes, Fernando wants to bring nostalgia to Glenside.
“I wanted to replicate my childhood experiences, something that could bring some smiles and joy back to our neighborhood,” he said. “I think everyone misses the human contact we once had now that everything’s online and digital.”
The store’s inventory includes movie posters, VHS tapes with rentable VCRs (and associated adapters for any modern television), t-shirts, neon signs, old-school toys, sunglasses, arcade games, VHS-inspired magnets and pins, and retro video game consoles.
A membership card “just like Blockbuster did back in the day” allows customers to rent VHS tapes and VCRs.
“You can have a movie night with your family. Our rentals include pop rocks, two bags of chips, lollipops, popcorn, Swedish fish, and two glass bottles of soda,” Fernando said. “We have everything you need to make it work with what you have. We even make mix tapes for you. You bring us the songs. We sell boomboxes and handheld cassette players that have Bluetooth and USB, all the modern amenities, but it looks retro.”
Fernando also makes custom VHS tapes in any color spool. Starting Wednesday, April 30, the shop will feature an old-school claw machine filled with 80s goodies (sunglasses, t-shirts, pins, stickers, toy cars, and more).
Vice City Collectibles hours are:
- Wednesday/Thursday: 1:00pm – 6:30pm
- Friday/Saturday: 12:00pm – 7:00pm
For more on Vice City Collectibles, you can visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.
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Photos: Steve Messina