New Realities Gaming takes on former Salisbury pizzeria

New Realities Gaming has been based at 140 Fisherton Street since it opened in August 2023 and has now taken ownership of the former Pizza Venti premises.

The business was founded by Emrys Peddell, 17, who runs the shop with his parents, James and Anna, inspired by his passion for trading card and board games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dungeons and Dragons.

Emrys decides what the store will stock and which games and tournaments are played there, and he plans to take the business on when he turns 18.

There is plenty of space for guests to play their favourite games (Image: Newsquest) On November 1, New Realities soft-launched its new area, which has tables for players to make use of its collection of games, plus a separate tournament room.

A grand opening will be held on Saturday, November 30.

Emrys hopes the store will offer an alternative form of nightlife in Salisbury that offers a safe and sociable setting, without any pressure to drink alcohol.

Read more: This is why Pizza Venti has permanently closed

Read more: Gaming business to celebrate anniversary with weekend-long event

Its existing store will primarily be used as a board games café.

The family acted quickly after the pizzeria closed and were able to quickly secure the space to start work on their expansion.

James said: “We knew that we could use more space for play tables.

“Sometimes, we get quite busy in here, and there are more things we want to add to our range such as Warhammer, Manga and anime figures.

“We found the owners and contacted them. I've been working on it myself to get it ready; It was quite a lot of work.

“I had to remove the old stone pizza oven and change it from a restaurant.”

More work will be carried out to make the shopfront stand out to passers-by (Image: Newsquest) The former kitchen has become an enclosed space, which will be used mainly for Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer, and the restaurant space has been filled with tables.

Players will also be able to enjoy hot or cold drinks and snacks and take part in official tournaments and ‘learn to play’ sessions.

“There's a lot of community work,” said James.

“We try to be as inclusive as possible and allow as many people as possible to play.”

New Realities is still being discovered by locals, and the store gets a lot of custom from Stonehenge and cathedral tourists coming from the railway station.

You can stay up to date with New Realities Gaming by checking its website and Facebook pages and joining its Discord server. For more information, visit www.newrealitiesgaming.com