Video gamers in Ozaukee County can tally another victory to their standings.
On Nov. 25, the Belgium-based video game shop, Game N’ Repairmoved to a new, more centrally located storefront in Cedarburg at W61 N297 Washington Ave. across from Piggly Wiggly and Starbucks.
Game N’ Repair sells consoles and video games, both new and used, and offers repair services for consoles, phones, iPads and computers. The store specializes in complex repairs that require precision soldering, all executed in-house, according to the store’s website.
Owner had been looking for a different location in Ozaukee County
Owner Ross Christifulli said the company has long been looking to find a location in Ozaukee County closer to where many of the store’s customers lived.
And the move is already seeming to have been a smart bet.
Within a single day since reopening in Cedarburg, Christifulli said the new storefront made as much as the old one in Belgium would often make across an entire month.
Game N’ Repair opened in 2022 in Belgium
The Belgium location opened in November 2022 after Christifulli’s son got into video gaming. The two started buying Game Boys from Japan, adding updated screen displays and selling them on eBay.
“One thing led to the next, and I was kind of creating a business,” he said. Christifulli decided to open the physical store that, at first, mainly focused on retro games. Eventually, they grew to offer new games too.
“If you look at Ozaukee County specifically, we no longer even have a Game Stop. Other than Target and Walmart, there is nowhere else where someone can walk in and buy physical gaming media,” Christifulli said, noting that Game N’ Repair is able to provide a higher level of expertise and customer service than those larger corporate options.
Shop sells retro merchandise; customers can buy or trade
Another thing that sets Game N’ Repair apart is that the business has held onto its retro gaming and merchandise roots.
“When you walk in, you can see toys and cool video games that you played as a kid, but they’re still in the box. You can buy them, and you can trade your items in for cash or store credit,” Christifulli said.
“Not only do we buy from people around here, but I am constantly buying from online auctions. I want it to be that someone could come in today, look at our store, and then pop in after work tomorrow and see new items they didn’t see yesterday.”
Game N’ Repair plans to host tournaments
Christifulli said the business is also hoping to create opportunities to bring local gamers together with in-house tournaments. The new storefront even has a couch and television set up to host these events.
On Black Friday, Nov. 29, Game N’ Repair held a Mario Kart Tournament where the fastest racer received a $100 gift card and all participants received 10% off any in-store purchase.
“Yes, technically you can go online and play with people,” Christifulli said. “But there’s just nothing like when you were a kid playing with your friends and you could connect with someone you’re actually playing next to.”
Original plan was to keep the Belgium location open
He said they originally had planned to operate at both the new location and the old one at 139 Main St. in Belgium. But after he already received the stamp of approval from Cedarburg’s Common Council on Nov. 11 to expand into the city, Christifulli was notified by the Belgium property’s landlord that the old location’s building would be listed for sale.
“With that uncertainty in the air, we decided to just consolidate and focus on one good location in Cedarburg,” he said.
Christifulli previously owned an electronics repair business in West Bend before selling it in 2017. He then started a marketing agency and a software company, which he sold during the pandemic.
The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
