Play N Trade hits in Aurora
A fast- growing video game franchise recently opened its first suburban store.
Play N Trade, recently launched a store in Aurora at 1460 N. Orchard Road, Suite 102, near Buffalo Wild Wings. The family-operated shop, filled with new, used and retro games, is going up against the established GameStop chain.
Brothers Mike and Jeff Brazener run the day-to-day operations at the newest Play N Trade, a business they own with their parents, Ron and Maggie Brazener.
About 70 percent of the games at the store are new while 30 percent are used.
"We hope to reverse those numbers as time goes on," said Jeff, a resident of North Aurora. Shoppers are able to trade their used games for another selection in the store.
Play N Trade, based in Newport Beach Calif., is growing quickly. The number of stores has grown from 25, just two years ago, to 210 today. By the end of the year, there are scheduled to be 8 in the suburban area, including locations in Lake in the Hills, Naperville and Evergreen Park.
Highlights at the new store include eight game consoles that are available for shoppers to use. "You can try a game before you buy it," Jeff said. The customer is allowed to sample any game before they make a purchase.
"I don't know how many times I've bought a game in the past only to find out I didn't like it. That won't happen here," said Jeff, 33. Before launching the business, he worked as a digital printer for R.R. Donnelly. His brother, Mike, 32, was a machinist for Chicago Mold.
While growing up, the brothers lived in various locations throughout the suburbs and graduated from Batavia High School. Their father is a retired CFO who worked at General American Door Co.
The brothers said the idea for the business developed when they grew frustrated with other game stores. Mike, a Geneva resident, researched the idea for a franchise and found Play N Trade on the Internet.
The owners are hosting a grand opening at midnight today in connection with the release of "Gears of War 2" game.
They are planning to hold tournaments at the store in the near future as well.
The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call (630) 907-9991 or check out playntrade.com.
Kim Mikus' columns appears Tuesday through Friday. She welcomes comments at (847) 427-4567 or kmikus@dailyherald.com.