A new portal to the 1980s and 90s has officially opened in Salem this month. Subatomic Vintage Toys, located at 1910 Commercial St. SE, celebrated its grand opening this month, turning a former estate sale building (and one-time KFC) into a sanctuary for toy collectors and nostalgic families.
A Partnership of Local Legends
The store is a collaboration between two familiar faces in the Salem hobby scene: CJ Nelson, owner of the downtown arcade bar Coin Jam, and Tom Engen, who formerly ran the beloved “Pop Culture” toy store on Lancaster Drive. After more than a year of meticulously renovating the space, the duo has filled the shop with decades of history. The shop boasts an impressive range of inventory dating from the 1930s all the way to the early 2000s.
Easter Eggs and Vintage Icons
The store is full of vintage nostalgia and Easter eggs in an attempt to transport visitors through time. Shoppers are immediately greeted by a three-foot-tall Yoda statue standing guard behind the register, and a massive Millennium Falcon from the 90s hangs above the glass cases. In a refurbished coin-operated machine from the 70s, the Kartoon Movie Korner plays classic cartoons on a loop (it’s like Saturday morning, but every day).
In a nod to the building’s history as a Kentucky Fried Chicken, the owners installed a 1960s KFC-branded light in one corner of the shop. The store also gave a new home to original shelving from the former Salem Toys R Us, and those shelves are packed with everything from early 20th-century tin toys and muscle car memorabilia to the action figures that defined the 80s and 90s.
Community Impact
Beyond selling G.I. Joes, Transformers, My Little Pony, and Star Wars figures, the owners hope to create a space where the community can step back in time. The shop has already become a local hit! Stop in today to see what makes Subatomic Toys so special in Salem.
Read the original feature: Salem Reporter: New vintage toy store opens in Salem after months of anticipation
