A new storefront is coming to Bay Shore later this fall that will transport you back in time.
Blast From The Past — located at 125 W. Main St. in Bay Shore, where the former Pixie Dust resided — takes patrons down memory lane with its vintage collectibles spanning various decades.
Upon walking through the door, one can’t help but feel nostalgic when looking at the plethora of old video games, music, toys, and comic books.
Owner Richard McWilliams grew up in Bay Shore and as a kid, he would always browse the local pawn shops and trade games.
“They would let me trade one game for one game on the shelf — they weren’t making money off me, there’s just a little kid walking in the door and they would be like ‘Here just take it,’” McWilliams said. “I would bring it home, beat it, and take it back, and do it again.”
For the last decade, he and his wife, Christina, have been on a mission to open a collector’s haven of their own, and this year, everything fell into place to make that dream possible.
“We have video games and systems from the Atari era, all the way up to current generations like PS4 and Nintendo Switch,” McWilliams said. “We are going heavy on the 80s and 90s toys — the era that I grew up in — it’s a homage to all the toys that were very popular in that time.”
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Vintage games and toys are the store’s specialty and they will carry items such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, Voltron, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and more.
Patrons can also find a variety of movies and music from all media platforms, like VHS tapes, records, DVDs, laser disks, CDs, and cassettes.
Comic books, manga, and graphic novels will also be on the shelves.
The owner’s mother, Lynn, will also sell hand-painted glassware in the store, which she paints herself and offers on her Etsy Shop.
Blast From The Past plans on offering delivery to Fire Island as well, so those across the Great South Bay can partake in collecting.
McWilliams said his time spent at pawnshops at 10 years old searching for games to play led to collecting, trading, buying, selling, and building up his inventory over the years.
He said customers will be able to trade, buy and sell in the store.
The owner said they are aiming to have the store’s grand opening around Black Friday in November, just before the holiday season kicks off.
The feedback so far from the community, both in-person and on social media, has extremely positive.
McWilliams said there have already been people coming in wanting to buy some collectibles.
“I got hundreds of followers the first day, multiple shares the first day, it’s actually very nice to see,” he said. “Even the local walk-by traffic has been spectacular and welcoming with very open arms.”
If the opportunity arises, he said he would be interested in opening another business in Bay Shore.
“This is our home, this is where we want to be and stay,” McWilliams said.
This past year, he and his wife bought a house in Bay Shore and had their first son, Leonardo, who is named after the well-known Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character.
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McWilliams said he remembers watching his mother run a small business and growing up in her store.
Now, he is following his mother’s footsteps with his own son and hopes that when Leonardo is older, he will run the store with his dad.
“He’s going to sit here with me a lot of days and help me out, tear the store apart and play with toys,” he said.
“I hope to teach him the business and maybe one day hand it to him.”
For updates on Blast From the Past, follow their Instagram and Facebook pages.
Check out the photos below for a sneak peek of Blast From The Past.
