Tristan Whitworth, of Shoreham, is a throwback kind of guy. The owner of Game On Video Games in Miller Place and Smithtown as well as Game On Retro Arcade at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, is expanding his nostalgic empire. Next month, he will open Game On Retro World in Riverhead, a few doors down from the arcade and has announced plans for another Game On Video Games and Game On Retro Arcade in Coram coming by the fall as well as Retro Cinemas in Coram opening in 2027. The Miller Place location is closing and the Smithtown store will remain open for the time being.
“My idea was to have two entertainment hubs — in Riverhead and Coram,” Whitworth, 41, says. “To me this is about the passion to make central locations where people can enjoy entertainment at a reasonable rate.”
HOW IT STARTED
Back in 2015, Whitworth opened his first store in Miller Place, which was 1,100 square feet.
“Originally, we had video games, action figures, comics, toys and more,” he says. “Because of space restrictions, we kind of fell away from it and honed in on video games because the other stuff took up too much space.”
A Blockbuster Room will be part of Game On Retro World in Riverhead opening at Tanger Outlets next month. Credit: Tristan Whitworth
Whitworth opened a second Game On Video Games in Smithtown in 2017 and then Game On Retro Arcade in Riverhead in 2023, but always wanted to get back to his pop culture roots.
“I was trying to find a space but things kept falling through,” he says. “There’s tons of stuff sitting in storage and I haven’t had the opportunity to do this until now.”
The new 8,000-square-foot store, Game On Retro World in Riverhead, located at Suite 410, will not only sell video games but toys, comic books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, action figures, Pogs, Beanie Babies, Pokémon cards and more.
“Everything is ’80s- and ’90s-themed including a Blockbuster Room, where you can play movies or video games,” Whitworth says. “This space popped up next to my arcade and it was a no-brainer.”
The 5,000-square-foot Game On Retro Arcade in Riverhead, located at Suite 405, features 100 arcade games. It costs $15 to play all day.
“Our machines are 70% old school and 30% new,” Whitworth says. “We have the newer pinball machines, bubble hockey and driving games like the Fast & the Furious.”
CORAM COMING
The Miller Place store is moving to Coram at the shopping center at 850 Route 112, plus another Game On Retro Arcade will open by the fall, next to the old Coram Movieland Theater, which Whitworth is turning into Retro Cinemas. The 17,000-square-foot multiplex contains seven theaters and is set to open next year.
“It’s been vacant. The place was vandalized and the equipment was stolen, pieces are missing,” Whitworth says. “We are going to redo the theater in phases by opening three screens at first with plans to complete the rest in the future.”
The programming will be old movies from the ’80s and ’90s returning to the big screen.
“I’d like to open with three different styles — action, comedy and family films. Hopefully, we can start with movies like ‘E.T.’, ‘The Breakfast Club’ or ‘Jurassic Park,’ ” Whitworth says. “It’s going to look like an ’80s movie theater, just old school and simple. I even ordered a carpet with popcorn buckets on it.”
Additionally, Whitworth promises to offer discount prices on snacks.
“Concessions have made movie theaters unaffordable and we are going to try to change the game on that,” he says. “I’m almost going into this to just break even and build something for the community. I’m not going to try and make money on people buying popcorn.”
For more information, visit: gameonmp.com, facebook.com/gameonMP or follow on Instagram: @gameonmillerplace.
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday’s exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
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