'Tough decision' - Popular Bristol gaming shop and cafe closes for second time in a year

The closure of Geek Retreat on St Augustine’s Parade in the city centre was announced in a social media post by its manager, Liam, who also manages the Newport store.

In the post, he wrote: “After a lot of thought, I’ve made the tough decision to close the Bristol store.

“When I took on both Bristol and Newport, I genuinely believed I could give both sites the time and attention they deserved – even with 30 miles between them.

“But life changes, and trying to manage both stores across two cities while handling personal things has become too much to do well.”

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He added: “This isn’t a reflection on Geek Retreat or the brilliant communities we’ve built – it’s a reflection on what I can realistically manage right now.

“I believe in the Geek Retreat model and what it brings to local communities, which is why I’ll be focusing all my energy on making Newport the very best it can be.

“To everyone who supported Bristol – thank you. Your community spirit meant everything, and I’m hopeful we’ll be back in the city in a new format very soon.”

The closure comes after a year after the store previously temporarily closed after its previous managers left. It reopened under Liam last July.

The Bristol store first opened in 2022 and hosts numerous events including trading card games, Pokémon club and meet-up groups.