'There Are No Other Stores In The Joliet Area Like It': Owner

JOLIET, IL — About the only thing missing from downtown Joliet's Dragon's Den Shop is a store sign. But don't worry, the new business signs should be prominently displayed in the next couple of weeks, promised owner Andrew Lindskog.

Friday marked his store's opening at 124 North Ottawa St. Dragon's Den is across from the main branch of the Joliet Public Library and next door to the Strange & Unusual Art Gallery and Sue Regis Glass Art.

By noon, at least 10 customers had already visited to buy collectables, remarked Lindskog. Among their first store sales were Power Ranger figures and a Funko! Sloth from "The Goonies," and "some Pokemon booster packs," Lindskog said.

"I've been blown away by support in this community," he told Joliet Patch. "A lot of them said they had heard about it in the Patch."

This marks the second Dragon's Den Shop in Illinois for Lindskog and Albino Franco. Their first store is on Archer Avenue in Willow Springs.

The new downtown Joliet store plans to be open Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and stay closed on Mondays.

Eric, the Dragon's Den store manager, said, "we try to carry all the stuff that collectors chase. We don't want to have a collector go home disappointed."

There's about 20 feet of store wall "filled to the brim with around 800" pop vinyl figures including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Transformers, sports, horror movies and more.

Why did Dragon's Den choose Joliet's downtown for their second retail store in the Chicago area?

"There are no other stores in the Joliet area like it," Lindskog said. "The closest is Target and Walmart, but their store shelves are always cleaned out so fast."

The owner and manager stressed that Dragon's Den is a buy, trade and sell store. Their collectables mostly range from $5 to $150. There's even clothing such as dragon-themed sweatshirts and hoodies.

"Anyone with a toy collection taking up space in your house, bring it to us, and we'll take a look," Eric remarked. "Most likely, we'll buy it, depending on if it's in good condition."

Added Lindskog: "We want to get more product on the shelves."

The phone for Dragon's Den Shop is 815-409-7431. Dragon's Den Shop also has a website.

In addition to thousands of vintage toy action figures including Star Wars, G.I. Joe and X-Men, there's also exotic potato chips including lemon, fried shrimp and seaweed flavored.

The Dragon's Den Shop carries an assortment of unusual Lay's potato chip products, including "exotic chips from Taiwan," Lindskog said proudly.