Hairy Tarantula North

After visiting Hairy T’s downtown location, I decided to visit this location up north. The plaza itself is just right off Yonge and Steeles. Parking However, this location’s entrance is much easier to find than their downtown location.
Upon entering the store, you will have to go down the stairs and into the basement. There is no wheelchair accessibility. The store is not really well lit and there is this eerie smell when you enter the store. To me, everything in the store seems out of place. It’s like they decided to put products randomly into place and voila, a second location is set up. What got me confused is the behind the counter space, you can just walk in without noticing that you are in the storage area or in the employee only area behind the counter.
The board games selection is alright but they are not in any order and majority of them are just stacked randomly on top of each other. Pricing is not that competitive compared to other game stores. Furthermore, the service is not as great here than at the downtown location. Once, I was looking at their showcase display of Magic cards but all the staff were busy unloading inventory and would not care to help me even though I was standing there for ten minutes looking at them.
On the bright side, they have a lot more space in this location to host daily events and tournaments within the basement. Also, look out for their weekly, monthly and quarterly deals on their website.

PROS:
— Tonnes of stuff! If you have time to browse and want a trip down memory lane, there is a bit of everything mixed in around here.
— Old collectibles can be found. I spotted some old RPG books that I wouldn’t be able to find at newer game stores.
— Lots of gaming space, Free gaming on Wednesday nights. Lots of folding tables, lots of chairs, a dozen or 2 gamers dropping in and open game, friendly people will invite you to join whatever game they’re playing.
— Friendly Staff (at least the two staff I met there, not sure about the owner).
CONS:
— Dirty. I felt the need to sanitize my hands upon exit.
— Disorganized. Yes, there are «sections» but still felt very random and unorganized.
— Not cheap.
— Not wheelchair accessible. It’s downstairs in the basement.
— I can’t put my finger on it, but something doesn’t feel right about the place. The overall aura feels like a gamer’s den but not inviting for new gamers, and definitely not a nice place for kids.
As much as I appreciate the free open gaming on Wed nights, I wouldn’t make this my «regular go-​to place», and will only go back if I have some specific need or if I was in the area. 2 Stars, I’ve experienced better.

I’m a huge board game geek, and a fan of many other things you will come across in Hairy Tarantula (comics, 80s merch, pop vinyls etc.) so walking into here always makes me feel like a kid in a (very messy) candy store.
I find compared to some of their competitors (401 Games, Meeplemart, Legends Warehouse), their prices are a bit steep (even WITH the sales they are usually running.) If you do stop by with Board Games in mind, pop by on a Tuesday, as they are usually an extra %5 off!
I absolutely hate the layout here. It’s super small and cramped near the cashiers, the board games aren’t in alphabetical order so while it is awesome that they have quite a large selection, it sucks to go searching through everything when you have something specific in mind. A few gaming tables, but not TOO much gaming space compared to other gaming stores.
Cashiers are usually a bit slow. Not super friendly, on the whole. There is one girl that works there that is always quite bubbly and friendly — so it’s always a pleasure to deal with her :)
One of the other nice perks of Hairy T is that sometimes, if you’re lucky, they are open on a holiday! We randomly popped by here on labour day, and to our surprise, they were open!
Overall, definitely not my first choice for gaming/​hobby stores, but its nice to have the option in the North area of Toronto.

Rude employee is condescending and is on some kind of power trip; it is as if they don’t need/​want your money. Store is horribly organized, everything is covered in dust, merchandise is placed wherever there is a flat surface. Boardgames are overpriced. People seem to have a good time playing MTG though.

Overpriced for MTG. Good selection of cards. But cramped space and price gouging is a turnoff. Parking is also a problem as you will have to find it on the street.

It’s no longer necessary to venture downtown on TTC or pay parking to get your fix of comics, games, RPGs, manga, miniatures, art books, etc. The Hairy Tarantula North is at Yonge & Steeles in a strip plaza across from CentrePoint Mall. Access is via stairs to the basement, which is crammed to the rafters with STUFF. Friendly staff can quickly help you find what you’re looking for.

²⁄₃ visits were horrible.
The owner of the store will personally wrinkle and damage new books for you when bagging them. not to mention he seems to enjoy telling you how unpopular your taste in genres are when they don’t have a certain books in stock. Don’t waste your time here go to Cyber City Comics just down the street.
With that said the Co-​Owner of the store proved to be quite helpful when visiting the first time. He personally brought 2 Hardcover books from their downtown location just to make the sale.

Dirtiest store in the GTA. Overpriced. The owner/​hobbit who runs it needs to be courteous and attentive.
My son was buying cards and when prompted to come up with the total for the purchase (special needs) the owner said, ‘hey, I’m trying to help, I’m not being asshole’.

It’s like walking into a cave troll’s den. There’s a lot of crap in here, and by crap I mean stuff you probably won’t want to buy. Apparently it’s just surplus stock.
Admittedly, it’s okay to kill time in, if you don’t mind having to root around like a truffle hunting hog, but it manages to combine strange selection (I found a bunch of Tron action figures) with strangely high prices. You might find a good value, or something.
It violates pretty much every rule of retail in terms of organization and presentation, being more like a massive single retailer basement rummage sale.
It’s a shame, since the downtown store has been improving and the junction store is a good venue. I guess this is the picture in the attic.

This is their new location uptown, in addition to their 354 Yonge and 2949 Dundas West.
This store is *big*. It’s dark and dungeony and feels like a warehouse or storage space, which is somehow an atmosphere that I love in a comic shop. I didn’t spend long at their grand opening weekend because I was short on money, so there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t see. They have manga and graphic novels up the wazoo, action figures, Japanese trinkets, superhero lunchboxes, and more. The staff are friendly and the prices are good.
When I got there they didn’t yet have all their credit card systems set up, but they assured me that they would soon. Give it a few days before you pop in there if you plan on using Mastercard.
My only complaint is that this store, like their downtown location, is not accessible for the mobility impaired. It’s in a basement down a narrow staircase (the downtown shop is *up* a narrow staircase). I don’t know what the Dundas West store is like. If you are a comic nerd who uses a wheelchair, send an able-​bodied friend on a mission to get your comics, because you won’t be able to get into this place.
I’m definitely going back. Oh – if there’s anyone on your gift list this holiday season who is hard to buy for, Hairy T uptown has a life-​size Silver Surfer with surfboard for only $ 1995. :P I think he was a movie theater promo display and he’s waterproof since they left him parked outside in the rain yesterday.