Red Panda Games of Pensacola is place to buy, sell, trade and play games
For 12 years, Christopher Smith worked at a local credit union. Day in, day out, his days beginning as early as 5 a.m., Smith was able to bring home a steady income for his family.
But when he had to start working from home as a result of the pandemic, it sparked a feeling within that he just couldn’t shake.
“I also felt like I missed my opportunity,” Smith said. “For the past three years, working from home, I noticed that the pandemic opened up opportunities for people to try something new."
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Taking a leap of faith, Smith quit his job. The very next day, he opened Red Panda Games of Pensacola.
“It was my main income, and so I needed to open my new business right away,” Smith said. “It’s been an interesting time to start over again.”
Located only 15 minutes away from his house, Smith knew he found the perfect space for Red Panda Games at 341 N. Navy Blvd. in Pensacola.
“I ultimately had to get a realtor,” Smith said. “But as soon as I walked in, I knew this was it. This was the space. I still need to get my sign put up. It’s also close to the military base. I was told that they’re always looking for things to do, and I want to provide a space for them.”
After spending weekends and his days off gathering retail inventory, donations and fixtures, Red Panda Games of Pensacola held its grand opening celebration Feb. 18.
“Pensacon may be impacting us this weekend, but we plan on having more events, and I carry more than just video games,” Smith said. “We really want to create a family friendly environment and we’re not too far from the Naval Air Station. I’m currently working on creating a board game library, anime, manga, merchandise, and I have arcade games and TVs with gaming areas where people can play.”
If you’re a collector looking for some antique blasts from the past, you’re in luck. NES cartridges, Super Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation, and Xbox discs are lined throughout the store. Among the inventory, for a cool $149.99, located behind the glass case, is an original NES cartridge of Back To the Future II and III with the box it came in.
According to Smith, in addition to buying, selling and trading, he hopes to cultivate a robust e-commerce element on his website.
“We offer ordering online for shipping, store pickup, and we are offering delivery in conjunction with companies including Uber among others,” Smith said. “Which I believe we are the only game store offering delivery locally.”
Red Panda Games of Pensacola is open seven days a week, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit redpandagamestore.square.site.
Kalyn Wolfe is a freelance columnist for the News Journal. Send new business tips to pcolanewbiz@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Red Panda Games offers Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox games on Navy Blvd
