After less than two years in business and two expansions already, a tabletop gaming store in downtown New Kensington again needs more space while preparing for a major Star Wars event.

The Feisty Goblin, opened in April 2023 by Arnold couple Christine and Jim Radeshak, will move to a new space in January in the former PNC Bank at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street.

On Feb. 15, the store will host a planetary qualifier for the Star Wars Unlimited trading card game, or TCG. One of 100 qualifier locations, and the only one in Pennsylvania, the winner will advance to the July national event in Las Vegas.

When the store first opened, it was 1,250 square feet with room for 28 game players on regular days and 40 for tournaments and events.

In October 2023, they finished an expansion in the current location, adding 1,140 square feet. With all but one of their gaming tables in the new area, they had seating for 46 on regular days and up to 58 for events, but it was tight, Jim Radeshak said.

“We have to move to make it a better place for our customers.”

The Feisty Goblin has done so well that Christine Radeshak, 43, the owner, and Jim Radeshak, 48, its manager, have given up their previous jobs and are both now “100% at the Goblin,” Christine Radeshak said.

“We did not expect this kind of success so quickly,” she said.

Said Jim Radeshak: “It’s been almost like a whirlwind.”

By June this year, their second expansion into an adjacent space added another 500 square feet for office and storage space. The first storage area was only a 6-foot-by-8-foot room.

“We didn’t realize how bad it was,” Christine Radeshak said. “It’s just crazy to think back.”

With the new location giving them about 2,500 square feet of play space and another 2,500 square feet for retail, they’ll be able to seat 100 players. For the Star Wars event, they will accommodate up to 128 players, their new maximum.

The number of gaming tables will increase from eight to 18, and tables for the game Warhammer will increase from two to six. They will continue to have a room dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons.

Events are the driver of their business, Christine Radeshak said. Games drawing the most people are Magic the Gathering, Star Wars, Pokemon, Flesh and Blood and Warhammer.

“I thought we were going to be a board game store with a little bit of TCG on the side,” Christine Radeshak said. “We’re very TCG driven with board games on the side.”

“It’s not the store we wanted …” Jim Radeshak began to say. “It’s the store our customers wanted,” Christine Radeshak finished. “We embraced it quickly.”

Supporting other businesses that support them, the couple didn’t want to leave New Kensington or Fifth Avenue.

“We’ve been able to create an amazing community at the store,” Christine Radeshak said. “Our customers are the best.”

At the new location, they plan to open earlier and add Tuesdays to their business hours. They also are planning to have more “learn to play” events and demonstrations; more opportunities for local game creators and designers; board game flea markets; and other community events, such as food drives.

PNC Bank closed its New Kensington branch in 2007, and the space has been empty since.

The building was built as a First National Bank in 1914. It is in the New Kensington Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also has housed offices, including a dental practice on the second floor and a Masonic lodge on the third floor.

Olde Towne Overhaul bought the building in 2019 and has its offices on the third floor. It also owns the original home of The Feisty Goblin.

It was only a month or so after the second expansion that the Radeshaks asked about expanding again, into an area now home to Wildflower Bakery, which opened on Saturday, said Michelle Thom, operations manager for Olde Towne Overhaul.

“We suggested that they may as well just be our neighbors at the old PNC Bank, and that the ground floor could be a perfect location for them,” she said. “They have plenty of space to hold tournaments and events.”

The Radeshaks could have been in their new spot sooner than January, but allowed Olde Towne Overhaul to dedicate its crews to Wildflower Bakery’s opening.

“It was the right thing to do,” Christine Radeshak said.

While their first building stands out dramatically, with the name in large red letters on a black facade on Fifth Avenue, the new location won’t get the same treatment. They’ll make-do with just signs at the door and in the windows.

“We want to respect the building’s heritage,” Jim Radeshak said.

The inside will feature their colors of green and purple, which Thom said exterior lights on the building can be set to replicate.

“We can make them any color we want,” Thom said.

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