Today we’d like to introduce you to Terance Manikaran.
Hi Terance, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We are a trading card game store located in Bloomington, MN. We specialize in games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! Pokemon, Magic The Gathering, Weiss Schwarz, Vanguard, Star Wars and may more. We carry accessories like dice, sleeves, deck boxes and anything else you would need to get your game on. We started in Bloomington in 2019 right before covid hit. A fiend Tom and I were driving around Bloomington one day just window shopping for space with no intention of actually starting a shop that year but we found the perfect space and saw the vision of the layout and decided to speak to the landlord about what rent would be. Before we knew it I was signing a lease and working on setting up distribution for all the games we planned on supporting. I remember the day before our grand opening I couldn’t sleep. I laid there with my eyes wide open with the nervous feeling that I was forgetting something. The next day we went to the shop and people started flowing in. Myself being big in the TCG world it was nice seeing all of the people I played games with come and support our new venture. Over time we have grown to being one of the most successful gaming stores in MN. We started by running local events and supporting the local community. Now we run events all over the state of MN, we travel throughout the midwest and take part in vending anime conventions and card shows everywhere.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This journey was not always smooth. We moved from one location to another once our lease ended. We were supposed to be in our new location July 2024 but with construction and the build out of our space we got delayed till November 2024. We were placed in a temporary basement space in our current location and almost went out of business because nobody could find were we were due to the lack of signage. On top of all that the air conditioning in the basement was non existent in the middle of summer. At the time it felt like we were drowning trying to keep up with out distribution costs and having to pay employees. I remember the revenue at the time was less than 100 or 200 dollars per day. It took alot for us to keep afloat and there was alot of time, money, and customers lost in that short time(this being in part of our landlords lack of permits for the space). But since we have been in our actual location business has been booming with new players and different gaming communites requesting tournament times each week.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Lost Zone Cards & Collectibles. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a trading card game store that specialized in trading card games. Our largest gaming community would be Yu-Gi-Oh!. Myself being the owner has played and collected trading cards since the they fist stating coming out. I still have my original collection and having a game store is like a dream come true. Its truly one of those passions that turned into a business so we can do what we love for the rest of our lives kind of deals. We are known for having the best selection of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon cards. We also have an abundance of products. When people walk into our shop they are always impressed with the amount of product we have sitting on the shelves. We are known all throughout the midwest for vending card shows and people know us from the many Anime Conventions we vend throughout the year. We frequent Chicago for shows about 19 times a year. What would set us apart from other game stores is the fact that we are able to travel and attend shows all over the united states. Most game stores function and operate in place but we are what we like to call a mobile game shop. We operate 7 days a week in Bloomington and travel to make revenue and end meet. I would say one of our proudest moment is when we got to run 4 regional qualifiers for Yu-Gi-Oh! This was a big deal for me since I have always wanted to be a Tournament organizer (TO) for the game and since I know how difficult it is to get to this stage I was shocked when we were approved for 4 events in one season (Minneapolis, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Chicago). We had a vast number of players attend these events which then lead us to being chosen to vend national for two years in a row. We are known for hosting the largest tournaments in the midwest for yugioh and the only shop in the state of MN that qualify and are chosen to run these events. We want your readers to know that we are always weclome to new players and will host any type of game if there is a need we will do our best to fill that need. We can direct anyone that wants to start playing a game and introduce them to the community.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy…well other than being at the game store helping guests find a new game or cards they need to get their game play to an optimal level. I really enjoy spending time with my friends and family. I fish as much as I can when time permits. We live in MN and there are many lakes, I would like to think that I will fish all of them one day haha but that might not be possible. my favorite place to fish is Flour Lake up in Grand Marias, MN. I don’t mind city fishing but getting away from the city is where the best fishing is. I am also a foodie, I like going to try new restaurants and enjoy going to pubs with my friends. I am also a huge movie fan and I do enjoy watching plays or anything in theatre. Anything that involves spending time with my family and friends is something that I am up for.
Contact Info:
- Website: Website: https://thelostzonellc.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelostzonellc/?igsh=MTg5MWZzMzZkeGwwMw%3D%3D#
- Facebook: Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Lost-Zone-Cards-Collectables-100057152542135/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLostZone
