YAKIMA, Wash. — In May of last year, a devastating fire caused 1-Up Games in Yakima to scramble to find a way to stay open. In February, they reopened.
“There was a lot of uncertainty at first, cause we weren’t really sure where we were going to move,” said Alexander Smith, the owner of 1-Up Games.
When flames engulfed his business, Smith didn’t know where or if he could reopen his business.
“I didn’t really know exactly where I was going to go to find, I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen,” Smith said.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to go far to find a new space.
“Hogback, the owners of this complex, reached out to us, and told us they had a spot that would be pretty perfect for us,” Smith said. “We came and toured it, they adjusted, removed some walls for us, and it’s working out really well.”
Right now, the business is finding their footing, but feeling powered up as they are back in business.
“I would say we’re still getting back on our feet, particularly when it comes to retro because we are a retro video game store specifically, and when it comes to retro stuff, a lot of people don’t want to let go of that stuff, so it’s really hard to get inventory,” Smith said.
They’re also trying to give extra life to some vintage forms of media like VHS tapes, with some shows and movies that are difficult to find on streaming services.
“We’ve really pushed into media, our VHS selection is over 300 different VHS tapes so far, Blu-ray, 4k, and we’re doing DVDs as well,” Smith said.
Smith is just glad to do what he loves at long last.
“I feel like this is what I was born to do,” Smith said. “It’s nice to feel like I’m being productive again.”
