Store dedicated solely to Pokemon products will open soon in Cape

As the popularity of “Pokemon Go” moves people throughout the streets of downtown Cape Girardeau in the hopes of nabbing a Pikachu or Ponyta, a new business hopes to lure in casual gamers and Pokemon enthusiasts.

River Town Labs, a store dedicated to Pokemon, is the brainchild of Zach Abernathy, who recently closed his vape shop, Project V, to open the new venture in the same location.

Flanked by friends Aaron Hamlin, the store’s co-creator, and Tim Harris, who handles public relations, Abernathy is awaiting his shipment of Pokemon merchandise, at which point he can open his store.

“We’re looking at a lot of plushes, T-shirts and old-school, retro board games,” Harris said.

Trading cards, both singles and packs, will “lead us right into being able to host sanctioned Pokemon tournaments,” Harris said.

Aaron Hamlin, left, Zack Abernathy, center, and Tim Harris hold Pokemon Monopoly pieces Monday inside the new River Town Labs, a store dedicated to Pokemon, in downtown Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

The three men all are fans of Pokemon, having grown up in Southeast Missouri playing the various Pokemon games that have been released over the years.

Two of them even have Pokemon-inspired tattoos.

“The video games were the biggest part for me,” Abernathy said.

“That was my favorite thing growing up.”

Abernathy’s affection for the brand gave him the desire the open the store.

A Pokemon Monopoly game is seen inside the new River Town Labs, a store dedicated to Pokemon, in downtown Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

The popularity of the latest app game gave him the excuse.

“It gave us the push,” Abernathy said. “I’ve wanted to do it for a very long time, but then ‘Pokemon Go’ came out. I thought, ‘It’s time.’”

While other stores in the region carry Pokemon merchandise, River Town Labs will be unique to Cape Girardeau in that it’s dedicated solely to Pokemon and will carry goods directly from Pokemon wholesalers.

The men said the store is one-of-a-kind in Missouri and possibly beyond.

Harris said there once was a Pokemon store in New York, but it since has rebranded itself as Nintendo World.

Other locations in the U.S. have Pokemon vending machines and kiosks, but not a stand-alone store.

“As far as we know, no one else in the U.S. has done this,” Abernathy said.

Abernathy, Hamlin and Harris plan to host events beyond card tournaments, as opportunities arise.

Hamlin runs the Facebook group “Pokemon Go!-SEMO,” which has over 1,700 members.

“We’ll use this as kind of like a hub,” Hamlin said of the store.

“We did the trash pickup a few weeks ago,” Harris said, speaking of an event in which “Pokemon Go” players walked the streets of downtown, catching Pokemon and collecting litter.

“We’ll be looking into doing more community events like that,” Harris said.

Harris said they hope to register the location as a PokeStop or gym when Niantic Inc., the company that runs “Pokemon Go,” reopens registration.

Right now, 20 N. Main St. sits near more than a dozen stops, but none is reachable within the store.

But because of its proximity to the stops, the store is along a frequent route of local players.

“We’ll be serving drinks to all of them,” Harris said. “They’ll be able to walk right through.”

River Town Labs also will sell bottled drinks and offer customers a charging station.

The former vape shop has been transformed in anticipation of opening day.

New carpet has been installed.

The walls have been repainted and decorated.

Displays sit in the middle of the showroom floor, awaiting merchandise, expected before the Sept. 1 grand opening.

If the merchandise arrives sooner, Abernathy said, they may schedule an earlier soft opening.

River Town Labs will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

20 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO