It has been one year since the comic bookstore Silver Snail moved to Queen Street West in Toronto, and since the retailer has never had time to celebrate its anniversary, it is planning a celebration for this upcoming Fall as “there is lots to celebrate” says Brian Hamelin, the co-owner of Silver Snail.
Located at 809 Queen Street West in Toronto, the co-owners Brian Hamelin and Mark Gingras have around 30,000 comic books and other collectables for customers. The owners decided to move from their previous location at Dundas Square to where it all started – Queen Street West where the store originally opened in 1976 by Ron Van Leeuwen who retired in 2011 and sold the company to Hamelin and Gingras who were employees at the time.
“The original owner started this as he loved comic books, and he wanted a backup plan if it failed. So, he named the store Silver Snail as he also loved exotic animals. If his plan failed, he would turn the store into an animal store,” says Hamelin.
Customers can find all sorts of comic books and collector items including graphic novels, action figures, trading cards, collectables, giftware, and local art by Yannie Lo.
46 Years and Counting
Last year Silver Snail turned 45 and as it did not have a celebration because of the pandemic and its move, the retailer will be having a celebration hopefully in September.
There has been a lot of challenges, especially during the pandemic, and the retailer would like to celebrate its success. As new comic books are always being released, Hamelin says they need to make sure they keep up to not disappoint their customers.
“It is stressful as I am always thinking about what new comics are coming out and how much of each do we need. We want to make sure we have enough for our customers, to fill out our stores, while also making sure that we will sell out,” says Hamelin. “We also need to make sure we keep up with all the new comic books, like the Batman that comes out every Wednesday. We need to be fully stocked while also selling out, it sounds impossible but that is our goal.”
Hamelin said during the pandemic it was slow for Silver Snail as most of its customers enjoyed browsing in person which was not possible. Customers can also purchase online; however, their main revenue is people coming into the store and picking up one or two books.
“People like to come in and see what we have, look through the comic books, see the art, and have the experience of browsing the store,” says Hamelin.
The new location was decided on because Silver Snail wanted to connect more with families and wanted to be on street level to make the store more accessible. Hamelin said the store is close to a park and they are hoping because of that, more families will come in and kids who are just starting their comic book journey.
“We want to reinvent ourselves to be known as the friendly neighbourhood comic bookstore where families can come in. That is why we have picked our location close to a park, we want to get the younger generations into comic collections,” says Hamelin.
The next steps for Silver Snail are to be more involved in the community, expand its online store, and to hopefully serve more families.
