3/3/2022

A gaming cafe and shop is to open in The Woolshops Shopping Centre, Halifax, after it agreed a 10 -year lease for unit 43.

Geek Retreat will run games nights seven days a week, as well as age-appropriate events such as Pokémon kids club, and will be the hub to trade and buy Pokémon cards, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, board games and other geeky wares.

Run by John Todd, the new franchise is about the 34^th in the UK and he hopes to open some time this month (March 2022).

"The Woolshops is the perfect place for Geek Retreat as it draws a crowd from every walk of life and with town centre focus slowly moving down towards that end, it makes it the perfect location," he said.

Opening between 10am and 10pm, Geek retreat will offer a range of events for gamers and the cafe will sell snacks, burgers, jacket potatoes and vegan options. John hopes he will eventually have a team of 10 staff.

Phil Murphy, asset manager at Evolve Estates, which owns the centre, said: "Geek Retreat is a great new addition to the centre and I'm pleased to welcome John and his team here."

Managed by LCP, The Woolshops is a 52-unit, open-air centre and is a significant retail scheme in the heart of the town centre. It extends to 7.4 acres, with retail over 236,923 sq ft, plus a two-storey, 310-space car park. The 38 tenants include River Island, Boots, Poundland, Superdrug and Costa Coffee.

The legal agent was Barker Proudlove and solicitor was Andrew Cooper from Clarke Willmott.

To find out more about Geek Retreat Halifax, head to https://www.facebook.com/GeekRetreatHalifax/.