One of Golden’s quirkiest stores is about to enter its terrible twos.
Bizarre Entertainment celebrated its second anniversary last week. The store that gives you a little bit of everything entertainment including video games, movies, books, music, board games and more, turned two on March 2.
“Just getting through the first two years, any business person will tell you that’s the challenging time. And that’s when you know whether you’re going to be able to do this as a career or not,” said Trevor Hamre, the store’s owner.
“So it’s way more relaxing now that we’re two years in.”
As a politically active, and very social guy, Hamre is living his dream owning his own store and dealing with happy clientele who share many of his interests.
“Overall, the people who come into my business are really stoked and happy. They’re happy before they come in here, and they’re looking to make themselves even happier through a movie or a video game or whatever. In general it’s pretty easy to work with people who are happy,” he said.
Even though Bizarre Entertainment is a store that sells products, it is also a very social, community oriented venue that gives people an opportunity to come together and enjoy a shared interest.
“Look at our community. It’s so focused towards physical activity. And anybody else that lives here can be a bit marginalized,” said Hamre.
“And the neatest thing is to see these marginalized people come together and meet each other, and actually start to hang out outside of the store.”
Four days a week there is an organized game session happening in the store, whether it’s Dungeons and Dragons, Magic, or other board games. Hamre or his staff will help guests learn how to play, which Hamre has noticed has helped some of the younger players with math and literacy skills.
“I’m so stoked about the support locally. It’s been really good… Parents are really excited that we’re doing the game nights, that we’re interacting with kids that aren’t necessarily into hockey or skiing,” said Hamre.
Saturday birthday parties have also become a common sight in Bizarre, as they have a theatre room in the back corner where they can stream movies.
