The Gaming Emporium

A seemingly new store has opened for business in Marathon County; however, although it is new to Rib Mountain, some may recognize the name.

The Gaming Emporium has found a new home in the heart of Rib Mountain’s retail corridor. Previously, it was a staple in the downtown Wausau mall, but COVID-19 slowed business, and the mall was subsequently closed. Then, the gaming store popped back up on Stewart Avenue until the owner, David Miller, sold it to spend more time with his family. After the sale, the Gaming Emporium eventually stayed in business for about a year until it ultimately closed.

Then came Frank Vang. Miller and Vang knew of each other through the gaming community and online gaming marketplaces. They eventually met in 2022 and began talking about opening a store about six months ago.

“Then we just decided, if we can find a good location and we make it look nice, and we put a lot into it, we’ll do it. It’s been successful so far,” said Miller.

On opening day, they had about 30–40 people lined up to check out their new store.

“We were even thinking about having two registers because the line from that initial rush went all the way back,” said Miller.

Miller has been involved with running gaming stores since 1996, and Frank Vang has been doing online sales since 2017.

“I consider Dave as my friend, my mentor and my business partner,” said Vang.

They both said that owning the store is a dream come true.

“Seeing the smiles on people’s faces every day for us is like Christmas,” said Vang.

They said that building good customer relationships is the most important aspect of owning a store.

“I’ve had customer relations for the last 30 years, so I have had some of my customers from the late ‘90s come in here already,” Miller said.

While maintaining good customer relationships is the key value of the store, maintaining affordable prices is also important to the owners.

They said that keeping some of their popular items in the store can be a struggle. For example, the cost to keep some of the Pokémon cards in stock can get expensive.

“It’s like Black Friday every time they’re releasing,” said Miller, “but we’ve found ways to keep it affordable for families. We never want to run out.”

Keeping products in stock and affordable is important to the owners because they want people to have a hobby they can return to.

“We explain to families, ‘This is a tough time, but we are here to make it work for you,’” said Miller. “We’re here to ease the pain a little bit.”

While the Gaming Emporium carries products from Legos, plush toys to Funko Pops, the most popular item has been Pokémon.

“It’s been bringing people in,” said Vang. “New people and old people who used to collect them.”

In the future, they hope to expand the products in their store to include used video games as well as other trendy products such as Labubus.

“We listen to our customers,” said Miller. “If we can get the product in, we’re going to get it in and see how it does. All of our expectations so far have just been above and beyond.”

One of the biggest struggles with owning the store has been trying to make all their dreams a reality.

“We are trying to do so many other things that there are not enough hours in the day,” said Miller. “If I could clone myself or add another 10 hours to a day, it would make it so much easier.”

Despite not having enough hours in the day, both Miller and Vang said that they are satisfied with the way things are heading and that now it is all about making connections with their community.

“Our biggest goal is to be the one-stop location for all your gaming needs, all your nerdy needs,” said Vang. “We want to be the one place where you can come and we have everything for you.”

For all your gaming needs, visit the Gaming Emporium at 225675 Rib Mountain Dr., Wausau, open seven days a week from 12-6 p.m. on weekends and 2-8 p.m. on weekdays. The grand opening of the Gaming Emporium is also set for the middle of July. Check their Facebook for up-to-date information.