Tucker, GA — Challenges Games and Comics has moved to Northlake Mall near Tucker.

The popular game and comic book store was previously located at North DeKalb Mall. The mall is slated for redevelopment as a mixed-use project.

Developer Edens plans to create a mixed-use development with retail, a hotel, apartments, and townhomes. Plans call for about 300,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, a 150-room hotel, 1,700 apartment units and 100 townhomes.

Owner Tony Cade had been searching for a new space for about a year. Finding an affordable space that’s large enough for retail and gaming was difficult.

“Even though Northlake Mall only offered a one-year lease…Northlake Mall had an affordable space over twice the size of my previous North DeKalb Mall location,” Cade said. “I also got used to having 24/7 security and indoor walk-by traffic. I would like to think that Challenges Games and Comics is a good fit for helping to make Northlake Mall a destination location for families again.”

He plans to have a soft opening of Challenges on July 1 and a grand reopening in mid-July. Cade and his staff are still working on electrical issues and are waiting for Comcast to transfer their services.

Once the store gets reopened, Cade thinks the Challenges community will enjoy the new location.

“We plan to have many more events,” Cade said. “We won’t be able to host Friday Night Magic on Friday evening because of the limited mall hours. Still, we have so much room that we can now host Magic: The Gathering, YuGiOh, HeroClix, Warhammer 40K, and many more events at the same time on Saturdays and Sundays. The Northlake Food Court vendors are excited about our opening soon.”

The comic book store celebrated its ninth anniversary last year. It has been located at North DeKalb Mall for about eight years.

“This spot right here was an arcade for like 30 plus years. I used to play here as a kid back in the 80s. The name of it was Challenges Amusement Arcade,” Cade previously said. “Since the signage and stuff was historic, and I was able to save some of the neon lights, I’m like let’s go ahead and change the name to Challenges Games and Comics. Because everyone who’s ever grown up in this area knows this arcade.”

Northlake Mall is located at 4800 Briarcliff Rd NE in Atlanta. Challenges Games and Comics is open during the mall hours – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

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