Hobbiesville is a collectibles store in Toronto near Queen and Ossington.

If you thought this area was reserved exclusively for Toronto's hottest fashion and swankiest eats, think again. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to walk by the store without peeking in through the front windows. 

Inside Hobbiesville, the new collectibles store on Ossington Ave.

Specializing in collectibles from all corners of the global toy market, Hobbiesville is like the Library of Alexandria for trading cards, reminiscent of Silver Snail in its prime, mixed with the effortless style that comes with an Ossington storefront. 

Outfitted with stylish decor, the store fits right in on the Ossington Strip.

The shop catches your eye from the street immediately, thanks to a massive mural plastered across the white brick. 

Iconic characters like Pikachu, Hello Kitty, and Gohan are painted in black across the surface, hinting at what you might find if you step in.

A mural featuring characters from iconic animé shows and games covers the front wall. 

Once you're actually inside, though, it's obvious that no mural is big enough to truly capture the extent of what Hobbiesville has to offer.

You can play an arcade version of Mortal Combat at Hobbiesville.

The front counter is the anchor of the space. Made entirely of totally transparent glass, the endless supply of cards populating the display shimmer under the LED lighting. 

The front counter (left) is stocked full with trading cards.

If your eyes drift above the counter, you'll see another shelving unit packed neatly with - you guessed it - even more cards. Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, YuGiOh, and Sports Cards are just the beginning. 

More cards populate the shelving behind the counter as well. 

Strolling through the aisles, you'll find different toys and figurines from Pokemon, Digimon, Gundam, and Star Wars. They even have Tamagotchis.

Toys make up the majority of the inventory on the floor.

The store also stocks more contemporary toys as well, like Funkos and the massively popular Sunny Angels that all the kids are talking about. 

The sunny angel dolls have been one of their most popular toys. 

A big part of the success of the business (and the collectibles market more generally) is nostalgia, store manager Jerome Romano told blogTO. 

But as important as it is to play to the childhood memories of their customers, Romano says the store is very much focused on the present, while allowing their niche to continue thriving. 

Hobbiesville founder Logan Fournier (left) and store manager Jerome Romano (Right) stand in front of the store. 

Part of their strategy is to turn their shop into a social hub for the card gaming community — and they have just the space to do it in.

The store also boasts a sitting area for community gaming and trading events. 

The same stairway that takes customers up to the shop's main floor also continues to a second level, where a space is being set up for gaming nights and card trading events. 

The second floor houses more inventory, as well as another counter stocked with single cards.

There's another counter on the second level where customers can peruse through a curated selection of single cards and even bring items from their own collections to sell to Hobbiesville for cash or store credit. 

The majority of the single cards are from customers who have sold or traded their collections with Hobbiesville. 

Opened in March, the new shop represents the first Toronto expansion of the rapidly growing Hobbiesville business, which got its start in the Ottawa Valley in the midst of the pandemic. 

You can play The Simpsons arcade game inside the store.

From the confines of lockdown, founder Logan Fournier was sorting through his old Pokemon collection, and decided to explore the selling market on eBay.

When his collection turned out to be worth a small fortune, Fournier decided to start Hobbiesville out of his garage. 

Pokemon cards are one of the store's staple products.

A few months later, he had a warehouse in Kemptville, and a few months after that, a storefront in Ottawa. Now established in Toronto, Fournier is eyeing New York City as the next target. 

With a variety of toys and collecitbles, the shop tries to offer something for everyone. 

For now, though, he and Romano are focused on making the Ossington store into a place where the trading card community can hang out and feel at home. 

The store also has a manga library in the front, along with a reading nook. 

Whether you're coming to play a few rounds on the free arcade machines, or want to sit upstairs to open the card packs you just bought, Hobbiesville is an exciting new spot to check out.

You can find Hobbiesville at 9 Ossington Ave.