New Geek Retreat retailer and gaming cafe to welcome movie and comic book fans to its Arundel Street shop at opening

Game, movie, and comic book lovers will be welcomed to Portsmouth’s new Geek Retreat shop on Saturday.

Fans of geek culture - from Marvel, Magic the Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh! to Warhammer and Pokémon, and even traditional board games - are welcome at the store to meet and play their hobbies in the cafe.

The new shop at 35 Arundel Street will be hosting its grand opening from 10am on July 31.

Max Cooke, who will run Geek Retreat along with his partner Beth Davis, said: ‘Everyone and anyone is welcome. We’ll be giving free milkshakes to the first ten people who visit us.

‘I’m most excited to be meeting everyone, and seeing the full community come together.’

A menu with vegetarian, vegan and kid’s options has been developed for the cafe in partnership with food service firm Booker.

Peter Dobson, chief executive of Geek Retreat, said: ‘The opening of the Portsmouth store is another step in the growth of the Geek Retreat franchise.

‘The Geek Retreat proposition and unique culture has proved particularly resilient during the pandemic and has shown us how important it is for people to have a safe place to visit and to share their interests with friends as part of a community.’

Geek Retreat aims to provide an inclusive, welcoming, and social environment for its more vulnerable customers, like those on the autistic spectrum, or with mental health issues.

It also has a national partnership with the National Autistic Society.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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