WILMINGTON — Memory Lane Comics has held many locations over the years, operating out of several spots on Oleander Drive, and the most recently on Market Street. But recently, the Wilmington business finally decided to set down roots on Princess Street, right in the heart of downtown.
Memory Lane Comics is owned by local brothers Jake and Ben Motsinger, who grew up shopping at the store as kids. After landing a job at the shop in his late teens, Jake soon found himself running the day to day operations.
When the economy was down in 2009, Jake Motsinger said the business sort of just fell into their laps.
According to Motsinger, “It was not a great time to be running a shop, but at the same time we were actually doing it.”
After several years on Oleander, the brothers decided to move the shop to a “better trafficked location,” on Market Street next to the Walmart.
“It wasn’t where we wanted to be, that particular spot,” Jake Motsinger said. “We were going to take over a lease from somebody and they ended up backing out at the last second, so we were at plan D with the corner spot on Market.”
Even though it was “plan D,” the Motsingers managed to keep the business thriving.
“It was successful enough to build us up to the point where we could upgrade, and now, here we are,” Jake said.
A brand new shop
Memory Lane Comics is now located on the corner of Princess and 2nd Street, right across from Bespoke Coffee. And looking around the store, it certainly seems to be an upgrade.
The new location reminds you of an art gallery, which, it turns out, it actually was before the brothers moved in. The building at one point was also part of the old jail, and was even once a bank. Currently, they’re storing much of their inventory in the old bank vault, located in the back of the shop.
Part of their move included getting their eBay store, which is a big part of their business, in house.
“It keeps everything under the same roof, which is nice because we used to occasionally lose sales,” Motsinger said. “Someone would come in and be like, ‘Hey I saw you guys have “Amazing Spider Man 202” on eBay,’ and I’d have to be like, ‘Yea give me like 30 minutes and I’ll get that for you.’”
“Now I just walk upstairs and grab it,” he said with a laugh.
The brothers plan to deck the shop out with local art, in addition to classic comic book posters.
“We’re trying to figure out how to incorporate more vintage type stuff, because the first store looked very old, and I keep getting more modern,” Motsinger said. “But the name is ‘Memory Lane,’ so I’m trying to continue to honor that stuff, but it’s a struggle with the new comics coming out each week.”
Display cases dot the store, with many vintage comic titles prominently shown, alongside statues and collectibles for every generation.
Speaking to the recent boost in the variety of comic books, the resurgence of the superhero movies, and the additional foot traffic in the new location, Jake said it’s been an interesting challenge educating a new generation of comic book enthusiasts.
“It’s been kind of cool to be down here and explain what we do, I’ve never had to explain comics on such a level as being here,” Motsinger said. “At our old place, generally everyone who came in was there to shop comics, it’s cool because now I’ll have people come in and be like, ‘What is this?’”
“I enjoy it now, it’s like, ‘do you watch the superhero movies?’ and I get to explain that this is where this stuff came from, a lot of people just had no idea shops like us existed,” he added.
But what about the regulars?
“Business has been good, but it’s been different,” Motsinger said. “I think it takes some time for people to get into the routine, where we were having people who came out every Wednesday at lunch, and they’re now coming in on Wednesday at 5, or on Saturday, and they walk over and get a coffee at Bespoke and then they walk in to get their comics.”
Jake says that while the move was a big change, their regulars are starting to acclimate to the downtown location.
“It takes time to figure out your routine, but part of it is just trying to get people to get down here more frequently,” Motsinger said. “That parking deck is so easy, and its right next door to us.”
“I didn’t want to have to deal with the madness of Front Street, just having someone wanting to come in and get their comics or a statue only to have to fight through this mass of people in the summer just to try to make their way back to their car,” Motsinger said. “Right here it is so easy to do it, it’s just an easy place to shop.”
The brothers say they’ve been welcomed with open arms into the downtown scene, and are “loving” being in the new location.
“Princess Street is becoming a really cool place, and ‘Bloke’ I think really kind of kicked it off, because it used to just be bail bonds and lawyer’s offices,” Motsinger said. “And that’s great, but, now we’re getting really cool places to come down and check out. Good restaurants, there’s a new taco place opening up, and a new women’s clothing store, we have Bespoke Coffee right there. It’s becoming a really cool counter culture area.”
Memory Lane Comics is open Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. They buy, sell and trade graphic novels, comic books and action figures.
For more information, visit the store’s website, or stop by the new location at 201 Princess Street and say “hello.” To stay up to date on the latest in comic book news, follow them on Facebook, and check out their eBay store for rare collectibles and hard to find comic books.
