We Opened a Toy Booth: Retro Rob’s

Last month, a vintage toy store named Gambit’s Toy Box opened its doors. Shortly after the store opened, people began sending me messages and tagging me on Facebook. One message read, “someone just opened a toy store that looks like your house.”

Last Saturday while out running errands, Susan and I were finally able to swing by and check out the store. Even before I walked through the front door, I knew I was going to love the place. The window displays facing the street were filled with the toys I grew up playing with and the ones I’ve been collecting all my life. After a few minutes of drooling, I finally walked through the front door and this is what we saw:

This was one of the few times that couch was unoccupied. For most of the time we were in the shop, adults and kids alike planted themselves in front of that television, basking in cathode rays while enjoying some vintage Nintendo games.

The store is technically a vendor mall, with two or three dozen booths belonging to individual sellers. Every single booth contains things either from or dedicated to the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In one booth hangs an oil painting of G.I. Joe’s arch enemy, the Cobra Commander. The next booth contained life-size busts of Jason from Friday the 13th. The next booth contained 3D printed Tron light cycles. I can’t tell you how many antique malls I’ve visited in hopes of finding one single booth full of vintage and retro toys. At Gambit’s Toy Box, literally every single booth had something that stoked my nostalgia.

Susan and I have tossed around the idea of opening a booth at an antique mall (mostly just for the experience) but have never done it simply because we never found a place where we felt like what we would be selling would fit in. That was not the case here, and after wandering around the shop for almost an hour, Susan struck up a conversation with the owner about renting a booth. There were only a few remaining to choose from — a smaller one in the back corner and a medium one on the opposite side, but one really struck our eye. It cost a bit more, but when you walk in through the front door and turn your head to the right, you’ll see it. It’s literally viewable from the front door; every single person who comes in the store will walk past it. When we found we could rent a single 6’x7′ pegboard wall instead of the entire booth, we were sold and signed a sixth month contract on the spot.

Halfway through the paperwork and at exactly the same time, the shop’s owner (Andrew, aka “Gambit”) and I realized we knew one another in a previous life. Andrew’s former band, Fear the Clown, recorded their first two albums at my friend Kirk’s music studio. I was present for some of those recordings and wrote some reviews of the band’s debut album. In fact, Susan and I attended one of the band’s early shows at the Tower Theater. I recorded that show and uploaded it to YouTube 11 years ago. It’s always super cool when two people who ran in the same circles bump into one another later in life.

The next day, Sunday, Susan picked up some 6′ shelves and pegboard shelf brackets. While she painted the shelves bright red, I began pulling items out of my collection and pricing them to sell. If you know me, this might be the part where you think I’ve been kidnapped and this is a secret sign for you to check if I’m okay. The reality is, I own so many toys and collectibles that I am beginning to feel crushed by the weight of it all. I have Star Wars toys I love and are very sentimental to me, but I also have hundreds of items that I’ve purchased over the years that take up space and simply don’t mean as much to me. All of those Power of the Force toys from the 90s were fun to collect, but they aren’t the toys I grew up with. And it’s not just Star Wars. A few years back I started collecting vintage lunchboxes. I have some that mean a lot to me. I also have some that are filling shelf space. As with all of my collections, there is fat to trim.

Last Saturday, shortly before visiting the toy store, Susan and I stopped by a couple of estate sales. And while there are always good deals to be found at estate sales, there’s always that depressing realization that this is probably what’s going to happen with my stuff after I die. My kids are not going to want two dozen tubs full of old Star Wars toys. It’s time to share some of these things with other collectors, and free up some space in the process.

We named the shop “Retro Rob’s,” which isn’t incredibly original but kind of sums the space up. This is what we were able to put together in a single afternoon. I have tons of things ready to price, including some video games (and spare systems) and other goodies. If you want to check it out for yourself, Gambit’s Toy Box is located on Main Street in Bethany, just a few shops down from the Stray Dog Cafe. Don’t get distracted by the vintage couch and Nintendo to the left — look for the red shelves on the right!

Gambit’s Toy Box
6708 NW 39th Expressway (Bethany, OK)
Closed Mon-Tue
Open Wed-Fri: 1pm-7pm
Open Saturday: 11am-7pm
Open Sunday: 1pm-5pm

If you see Gambit (the guy with the spikey hair), tell him I sent you!