In Business: Park Rapids’ “Final Frontier” Offers Nostalgic Collectibles for Passionate Fans

With great financial power comes great financial responsibility – it’s a friendly piece of advice one might be given before venturing into Park Rapids’ Final Frontier Toys.

“[It’s a] nerd store. You know, nerd headquarters,” said owner Frank Bray. “We do vintage toys, that’s my main focus, but we do a lot of collector’s toys, D&D [Dungeons & Dragons], Pokémon.”

Started over 30 years ago in California, the store moved to its Park Rapids location about five years ago. While the upper level of Final Frontier features many collector’s items open for the public to shop from, the store’s lower floor, away from the public eye, contains a treasure trove for toy collectors that’s available for purchase on Final Frontier’s website.

“I’ve been shocked how many collectors [there] are, they come out of Bemidji, out of Detroit Lakes, out of the Cities, out of Iowa, Colorado, they drive up here to, you know, see this stuff,” explained Bray.

Notably, both the retail store and the online collector’s store offer a wide array of products that cater to many different facets of pop culture, and according to the store’s owner, this is because of his passion for collecting.

“When I open a box to unpack, you know, some Star Wars figures or whatever, I still get the same enjoyment out of it 30 years later,” said Bray “And that’s because I sell what I like and I like what I sell.”

Part of the appeal for a self-proclaimed “nerd store” is the sense of nostalgia these products bring forth, as well as being a headquarters for fans of toys, comics, cards and other collector’s items.

“They come in and they go, ‘Oh my gosh, you got all this stuff?’ you know, and it’s really fun to hearing people talk about, ‘Oh my gosh, I had this and this,’ you know what I mean, and they just [are] so happy,” said Final Frontier employee Steve DeCarlo.