Young entrepreneur Grace Thompson opens new town centre venue for fantasy games devotees in Liverpool city region. Andrew Brown reports
A new fantasy games venue – The Hobby Post – has opened in Southport town centre, offering a new world for fans of fantasy games and literature such as Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons and more.
The Hobby Post has opened at 10-12 Post Office Avenue, next door to Southport Bijou Cinema. It is owned by 25-year-old Grace Thompson who opened it as her first business after feeling there was a real need for it in Southport.
Eventually this new retail and community space for hobbyists will occupy three floors of the building.
There you will find Warhammer games, associated paints, journals, and a range of fantasy literature such as The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien; Throne of Glass and House of Earth, The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson and more.
Grace said: “I’m so pleased to be open. We have had so many lovely comments from people who have been in. I just felt we really needed somewhere like this in Southport.
“I wanted it to be a place that was really accessible, affordable, friendly, and welcoming, a real community space.
“It’s brilliant to be next to Southport Bijou Cinema, hopefully there may be things like book clubs or movie nights we can do together with them.
“We’re so glad everyone has been loving the books we stock, and our collection is growing all the time, with a new order arriving next week! If there’s anything you’d like to see on the shelves let us know!
“That goes the same for the games we have here too. At the moment we have Warhammer, but we are adaptable, and it’s all about what people are interested in.
“On the first floor, I want to develop it into an area where people can buy their models, take them upstairs and then paint them. We will have Warhammer and gaming tables there, plus a painting station.
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“The second floor, when it’s complete, will host Dungeons & Dragons rooms. We are trying to get those completed as soon as we can.
“We’ll have a booking system here and online where you’ll be able to book time with us; it will be a very fun and sociable thing to come and do.”