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Williamsburg Millennials Are Getting Their Very Own Pog Lounge Lifestyle Experience
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Aug 16, 2016
Modified Aug 16, 2016
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Aug 16, 2016
Modified Aug 16, 2016
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I was a '90s child, and I can say with certainty that I found pogs boring and dumb. I'm still not quite clear on what you were supposed to do with those little cardboard circles, but I recall you tried to...shoot them? slam them?...until they flipped over, and then you won more pogs. I think those are the rules. I played with pogs exactly once and got bored, but many of my fellow millennial children liked them. And now, since none of those children ever grew up, Williamsburg is (maybe?) getting a pog store.
According to their website, Brooklyn Pogs plans to open up shop just north of the Graham L stop on August 31st, though they're not announcing the exact address until the 24th. Pog enthusiasts will have the opportunity to buy, trade and sell pogs, plus there's a cereal bar (duh) and the owners are attempting to secure a liquor license for a real bar, too. You can also expect '90s television show nights (there'll be a Full House/Step By Step night on September 1st, for interested parties), and karaoke.
Brooklyn Pogs owner K. Oliver told us in an email, "The inspiration for Brooklyn Pogs was to create something that explored nostalgia and 90s artifacts, and additionally to see what the community's reaction to it would be. And also, of course, to spread awareness about the genuine artistic merit that lots of pogs have!" And while the store's certainly aimed at '90s kids who collected pogs back in the day, Oliver says that "[s]eeing how this extends out to other demographics will be very interesting."
There's also a good chance this isn't real—as Brokelyn points out, "We searched the business license database and found no record of Brooklyn Pogs (or any pogs-related business, for that matter. Sorry, pog enthusiasts). An email sent to the address listed on the Facebook page bounced back; the domain name was registered anonymously through a third party." Still, it's plausible that there's a pog shop opening in Brooklyn in 2016, all things considered, and Oliver told us, "Does nostalgia have an amplifying or a diminishing effect on art? Do certain things from certain eras stand up objectively, without nostalgia? I invite everyone to check out Brooklyn Pogs and decide for themselves!" We asked Oliver to comment on Brokelyn's allegations and will update if and when we hear back.
'90s childhood nostalgia seems to be in full swing now that millennials are growing up—indeed, there's even an entire MTV Classic channel dedicated to Mariah Carey videos and old episodes of Jackass. Still, while childhood nostalgia is fun to revisit from time to time, it's hard to imagine this kind of thing is sustainable as a long-term business model. Unless, of course, someone wants to open a Skip-It store—I'd be way into that.
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90s
millennials
pog store
pogs
williamsburg
Rebecca Fishbein
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