Toy Stores
Long-running Richmond hobby shop near the airport, now in a larger unit on Russ Baker Way. Plastic model kits, miniatures and paints, board games, trading cards and comics, with tables for in-store gaming. A destination shop rather than a browse-by.
Plastic model kits, miniatures and paints, board games, trading cards and comics all sit under one roof on Russ Baker Way, which is a rarer thing than it used to be. The format is dying almost everywhere and Richmond still has a proper example of it.
What keeps these shops alive is not the stock. It is the people. A hobby shop is where somebody learns a system, finds opponents and loses an afternoon, and that community is why the good ones survive the internet when a pure retail operation would not. Anyone getting a kid into miniatures or board games and wanting a real explanation of the difference between the starter sets will do far better here than on a website.
Sea Island is an odd address for a destination shop and this one makes no secret of being one. The island is runways, cargo facilities and light industrial units, with Russ Baker Way running down the middle as the main road on and off. Nobody browses here by accident. You come because you meant to, which suits a place where the average visit is thirty minutes of looking at boxes and asking questions.
The drive is worth it if any of these categories are yours and a waste of an afternoon if none of them are. There is very little middle ground with a shop like this, and that is a compliment. Specialist retail that tries to appeal to everybody stops being specialist, and there are already enough places in Richmond selling the same twelve board games.
In the Sea Island neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other toy stores and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
Independent toy shop in the Hepworth Block in Steveston Village. Curated rather than crammed: wooden toys, Lego, Playmobil, puzzles, board games, kites and craft kits. The reliable answer to a last-minute birthday present in the south of Richmond.
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A pub on Sea Island at the north end of the No. 2 Road bridge, right beside the floatplane dock. The patio looks onto the river where seaplanes take off and land. A long list of BC microbrews and a menu built around burgers and fish.
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General contractor based on Miller Road on Sea Island, a short hop from the airport. Takes on construction and renovation work around Richmond and Metro Vancouver; enquiries are handled by phone rather than through a public website.
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Organic milk soft serve topped with honeycomb, matcha syrup or sea salt, served from a counter at the McArthurGlen outlet mall on Sea Island. Lighter and less sweet than typical soft serve, open until 9pm, and a fair reason to break up an afternoon.
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A genuinely small-batch roaster and tasting room off Lansdowne Road, run more like a workshop than a cafe. Limited seating, rotating single origins and staff happy to talk through the roast. Closed Wednesdays, so check before making the trip.
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Vietnamese restaurant on Alderbridge Way named for the Vietnamese word for rice. Broken rice plates, pho and vermicelli bowls served in a bright modern room, within walking distance of Aberdeen Station and the Alexandra Road strip.
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