After two successful decades in Lawrence, Game Nut Entertainment has expanded its reach to the capital city.
The gaming and pop‑culture retailer has operated at 2329 SW Iowa St. in Lawrence for more than 20 years. Customers can now shop at its new Topeka location at 5119 29th St. The business also runs a second Lawrence store at 813 Massachusetts St.
Store owner Gene Nutt said the store has evolved over the years into more than what he ever imagined it would.
“We started as a video game store and we’ve moved into board games and card games, collectible card games like Magic and Pokemon,” Nutt said. “And there are a lot of other ones. A lot of them that people haven’t heard of that if they’re not into that scene. But we carry anything pop culture.”
He said the store’s offerings now span comics, toys, miniature games like “Warhammer,” such role‑playing games as “Dungeons & Dragons,” and a wide range of niche titles customers may not realize exist.
Being a local hub for gaming community
Nutt said the game store is about community because it’s a place for people to come in and enjoy while meeting other people and bonding over their love for games.
“We have a Discord that allows people to contact each other, so they can get groups going and we have a play space,” Nutt said. “We host events here every single day. There’s something going on here, and, I mean, there’s always something to do.”
Within the Topeka store, there is a back entertainment space that allows for small gaming parties, gaming social gatherings and more.
“We’re just about promoting the industry and the community and making sure that people know we’re here for everybody,” he said. “We don’t tolerate the gatekeeping that happens in some parts of this industry. Everything that we host here generally is not competitive tournaments necessarily.
“Most of the events that we run are casual so that it doesn’t bring out the worst clientele. It brings out everybody.”
Nutt said the store uses its Discord server to share an always‑changing calendar of events, especially for card‑game tournaments, which are easy for players to jump into one‑on‑one.
Customers can get a Discord link in the store, and once they join, they can browse events, chat with others and take part in what he described as a broader community space rather than something solely for the shop.
What else can you find at Game Nut Entertainment?
In addition to a wide array of events, Game Nut includes an abundance of gaming selections.
Those range from newly released board games, newer PlayStation and Xbox games, figurines, retro Playstation consoles, older Nintendo DS games and much more.
Nutt said the next addition he hopes to bring into the store’s collection is used Legos, which have drawn growing interest from fans around the world.
“I learn something new every day still,” Nutt said, noting that after decades in the business he’s watched trends fade and then return as nostalgia kicks in. “I’ve seen things that go out of style and then that person that grew up with that gets to be a certain age and the nostalgia brings it all right back.”
Nutt said the classic‑gaming market has surged, with prices skyrocketing and older titles becoming harder to find. He noted it has shifted “more into a collector market than a gamer market,” something he dislikes because he wants the focus to stay on community and connection.
What are business hours at Game Nut Entertainment?
Game Nut Entertainment is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily in Topeka.
Nutt said corporate models don’t offer all of the community‑focused experience customers needed.
“This is 100% locally owned. It’s me, myself and I, and this is a labor of love,” he said, adding that the store relies heavily on customer feedback and word‑of‑mouth rather than traditional advertising.
“It takes a village to run a game store,” Nutt said. “I think I’m just happy that people are happy with us being here. I mean, we’re doing really well, and it’s growing still.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cjonline.com ’
