Pop culture store Eden Hunter opens in Rockhampton CBD

A mother and daughter team from South East Queensland have expanded their pop culture business, opening a second store in CQ.

Eden Hunter owners Mary King and Amanda Claire. Picture: Aden Stokes

A mother and daughter team from South East Queensland have expanded their pop culture business, opening a second store in Rockhampton.

Eden Hunter opened its doors on East St in Rockhampton’s CBD to customers on Friday morning.

The business is run by Amanda Claire and her mum Mary King who hail from Ipswich.

Ms Claire said she had been collecting her whole life and started an online store for Dragon Ball Z cards back in 2008.

“I have been collecting Dragon Ball Z cards since 2003 and I ended up amassing the largest collection in the world, which included the largest collection of doubles,” she said.

Eden Hunter has a large range of Squishmallows. Picture: Aden Stokes

After closing when Covid hit, Ms Claire reopened her shop in Ipswich as equal owner partners with her mum in 2021.

She said “Rockhampton seemed like the obvious choice” when looking at opening a store in a second location.

“We have a lot of clients from CapriCon,” she said.

“It’s only a one-day event but it’s our largest customer base.

“We had the most customers asking us to come out.”

Ms King will be living in Rockhampton to help run the store while Ms Claire will return to Ipswich.

Eden Hunter offers Hot Toys Cosbabys, Squishmallows, Axolotl Squishmallows, older lines of Monster High Dolls and My Little Pony, Pop Vinyls, Loungefly bags, puzzles, and more.

Eden Hunter also has anime figures. Picture: Aden Stokes

They also have anime figures, including Sailor Moon and one of the largest collections of Hatsune Miku figures.

“We just have a different range to what everybody else has,” Ms Claire said.

“When we do have something we tend to go big and have a lot of it.

“We have a large range of jigsaw puzzles and a large range of Squishmallows.

“We are passionate and knowledgeable about the products we sell.

“It’s stuff you’re not going to find at the other shops.

“The comment we get is we have stuff nobody else has got.”

RETAIL VACANCIES IN ROCKHAMPTON CBD

There are at least 20 retail vacancies in the East Street Mall, 14 of which have for lease or for sale signs.

Four of those retail vacancies are located in the Cherry Lane Arcade.

There are four retail vacancies in the Cherry Lane Arcade. Picture: Aden Stokes

The once popular Kern Arcade also remains vacant after the centre closed at the end of January 2021.

Kern Arcade remains vacant after the centre closed at the end of January 2021. Picture: Aden Stokes

Sharon Blanchard said the CBD “really has diminished” in the last couple of years.

“You can drive up here on the weekend and it’s really quiet,” the 62-year-old Coowonga woman said.

“It’s not what a city should be.”

Owner of Mark Bunt Menswear, Brett Burke, said he had been in East Street now going on 38 years and had seen a lot of growth in the CBD.

“We are certainly looking forward to having more businesses,” he said.

“It’s a great place to come down to.

“You can get a point of difference from your stores over in Stockland, which that’s what we try to do and we pride ourselves on service.”

Capricornia Chamber of Commerce president Jason Foss said there were several reasons why businesses were deciding not to set up shop in Rockhampton’s CBD.

There are at least 20 retail vacancies in the East Street Mall. Picture: Aden Stokes

“It’s not one thing,” he said.

“There is a combination of factors involved, from things like parking and access, to the rent that is being asked and the amount of foot traffic through East St at the moment.

“All of those things affect the viability of a business to sign a lease and stay viable.”

Originally published as Pop culture store Eden Hunter opens in Rockhampton CBD