Monster Hobbies, the long-time hobby store in High River that's been serving customers since July 2004, is once again open in downtown High River.
After operating for many years in a few locations around High River and online, owner Trevor Ursulescu has once again opened a storefront just two units away from his former location on 3rd Avenue SE.
"I'm excited because we're back in our building that we were in before the High River flood (2013), and we're actually two doors away from where we were back then. We're right beside Carlson's (on Macleod)."
After suffering heavy losses after the 2013 flood and the pandemic, he was forced to close shop and move online, but now he's finally been able to reopen.
He's also stocked up on some model cars.
"I bought someone's collection, so there are models in there going back to the 80s, and I did get a few more from the 70s, as well as up till now."
So, he has classic, vintage models in unopened boxes along with up-to-date models with a wide variety to choose from.
He has model kits for Planet of the Apes, Terminator and others, as well as car models.
Warhammer is also one of his hottest sellers for RPGs, or Role Playing Games.
There are also plans to bring back Warhammer tournaments and other types of tournaments once things settle down.
One of the benefits of the new location is that it has a separate room that can be used for tournaments.
"The boardroom is now converted into a gaming space for after-school pickup games, and as that grows, we'll eventually start getting the tournaments going again."
The store is located at Bay #1, 127 3rd Avenue SW, and the phone number is 403-652-5019.
"We're open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 till 6 currently, but as we add in the Wargaming nights and that sort of thing as we grow, those hours will change."
High River's Mayor Craig Snodgrass is also excited that the heritage business in High River is once again open.
"This is a pretty cool story and a pretty cool day that Trevor's back down here with Monster Hobbies because tell me what hasn't he been through to get here today. Going through the flood, relocating, trying to do it online to keep it rolling and then dealing with COVID in the middle of it all. It's fantastic and it's always awesome to see retail businesses opening in downtown High River, there's no question."
Mayor Snodgrass is also thrilled that the downtown business community continues to grow.
"That's a lot of what Trevor's creating here, too, with the gaming room. The kids can come down, hang out and be safe at the same time. The downtown community is vibrant, we're flying along here. The Vinyl Cafe opened; there's another new one. It just shows the businesses want to be down here, they want to be in this environment."