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Renzi Retro and Repair owner Christian Richardson opened his video game and card store last Friday at 150 American Legion Drive.
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Renzi's has sports and Pokemon cards and other games.
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Richardson also offers retro games and game consoles.

North Adams Shop Offers New & Vintage Games to Play

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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The shop is located in the corner of the Oasis Plaza, next to the ice cream shop. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A new card shop is bringing old and new games and trades to Oasis Plaza.

Renzi Retro and Repair owner Christian Richardson opened last Friday at 150 American Legion Drive, right next to the ice cream shop. 

Richardson grew up collecting and playing different types of video games. He was recently selling games and cards on Facebook before deciding to find a space last month.

"I really just liked video games. I play a lot of video games, and I just started collecting them. And then one day, I was like, Oh, why don't we try seeing if I can make some money doing it?" he said.

His shop is filled with older game consoles, Pokémon cards, sports cards, and video games new and old. He hopes to give people a better deal than other places.

"We're just trying to be different. We're trying to give people better prices than they're given other places. Since prices have got kind of crazy and it's hard to live nowadays, so we're trying to make it a little bit easier," Richardson said.

His shop will also take in items like consoles, cards, and other game accessories for trades or cash back.

"We pretty much take anything in, from cards to retro to modern games to consoles, accessories," he said.

He plans to get televisions and host tournaments on Sundays in the future.

"Tournaments are going to be a big thing that we're going to be working towards. We're also be working on getting TVs set up for certain days so people want to come sit down," he said.

Richardson wants his shop to be a space for people to gather and have fun.

"I just want to get more people off the streets. I mean, the area is not always the best, and people get involved in the wrong things around here," he said. "I just want to be able to bring people in at a younger age and give them a place to be able to play cards, or at some point, we're going to get TVs up so they can play video games. And I just want not everybody to be stuck on the streets and give them something to do in the community."

He hopes to one day expand and create a room dedicated to game play.

"I really want to get a whole store set up just for people to be able to come and play video games and and that's it not to buy things, but more of a place with a membership where you come and you play games, or you you do tournaments all day," he said.

His store is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.


Tags: new business,   video games,   

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Keene SwampBats Down North Adams

By Ben McDonoughFor iBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The SteepleCats battled back from an early deficit and pulled within one run midway through Saturday night’s contest, but a late offensive push by the Keene Swamp Bats resulted in an 8-4 defeat in New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Joe Wolfe Field.
 
Keene struck first in the opening inning. Jackson Smith led off with a single and later scored on an RBI double by Jackson Marshall. Eli Stephens followed with an RBI single to put the Swamp Bats ahead 2-0.
 
The SteepleCats answered in the second inning. After Matthew Colella lined a double into the gap, Parker Camelo delivered an RBI single to score Colella and cut the deficit to one.
 
North Adams’ defense kept the game close over the next two innings. A great catch at third base robbed Michael O’Brien of extra bases in the second, while center field and left field each came up with impressive grabs during a scoreless third inning.
 
The Swamp Bats added to their lead in the fourth. Consecutive singles put runners on second and third before an error allowed both to score, extending the advantage to 4-1.
 
The SteepleCats quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Nelphie Lopez opened the frame with a double before Sean Stephenson singled to put runners at the corners. Sebastian Rose followed with an RBI single, and after Stephenson aggressively advanced around the bases, Colella drove in another run with a groundout to trim the deficit to 4-3.
 
Richie Kerstetter provided a strong inning out of the bullpen in the fifth, retiring three of the four hitters he faced after issuing a leadoff walk. Steven Sams entered in the sixth and struck out one, though Nico Senese led off the inning with a solo home run that pushed Keene’s lead to 5-3.
 
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