THE BUZZ

Rolling the dice on a new business

Matthew Wruck, Brad Emon and Matthew Check have laid their cards down on ISO Games

Three friends from Central Wisconsin

have opened a new business in Wausau which may involve boards, but is never boring to their customers seeking cards and games every day.

Since October ISO Games has offered Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, the supplies it takes to play each and various board games to those hungry for such content in the community and region. Overseen by friends and co-owners Matthew Wruck, Brad Emon and Matthew Check, the initiative at 1720 Merrill Ave. came out of conversations had between the trio in the wake of popular establishment Johnny Cee Cards shutting down two years ago.

“We kind of missed John’s and it did not feel the same anymore,” Wruck said. “It was funny first and then we started talking about it seriously. Matthew is a part of the [gaming] community and when we heard he was thinking of opening a store we got together over drinks, talked about it more over a month and just kind of went from there. It was March when we made our plans.”

After this the process included drawing up a contract to ensure the business will survive in the event of strife between the group in the future. Other hurdles included finding a space. While they are set in theirs which was a former home for Crabbman’s Driver Education, getting to it took time due to their landlord adjusting to accommodate other tenants within the building.

“He was still having problems shifting other people around,” Wruck added. “We had other options but the downgrade we would have had was not worth getting into somewhere else a couple of months earlier. It worked out and we now have everything set how we like it.”

Boxes of adventure line the shelves and key cards are in glass cases which make up the main counter. Future expansion hopes include offering older video games for purchase, more tournaments and organized events to go along with what is advertised on the ISO Games Facebook page and separate from these, staying ahead and abreast of the competition.

“We have to be pretty confident we are the best option in town,” Wruck said as he wrapped his remarks. “There are two other stores and they made us weigh if we could be successful.”

For customer Eric Czerniak, the scale has come up in Wruck, Emon and Check’s favor.

“Johnny’s was filled with brotherhood and family feelings,” he said. “This has been missed.”

ISO Games is open from 12-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and 12-10 p.m. Friday. They can be reached at isogamesinc@gmail.com or by calling 715-870-2466.

Now and Zen Massage settled in at new site

Business was formerly in the First American Center downtown

Now and Zen Massage in Wausau has settled into a new location after making a recent move.

Katie Smogolesky’s practice began in 2017 and was previously located in the heart of Wausau. The shift to N. 3rd Avenue was brought on by a need to downsize and though now in the conference room which once belonged to Virtual Vision the same services remain.

“This is a little more advantageous,” Smogolesky said.

Evan J. Pretzer is a contributor to City Pages. He can be reached at evan.pretzer@protonmail.com.

▲ From left, Brad Emon, Matthew Wruck and Matthew Check pose at the counter of ISO Games in Wausau shortly after opening. The new business in the community supplies board games, card games and supplies for each to customers and envisions moving into vintage video games in the future. Supplied photo

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