NORWICH – After seeing another business in Norwich close its doors, a local teacher decided to start a business of his own with the goal of providing a safe place for children, teenagers, and adults to purchase and play with trading cards and board games with friends and family.

Serenity Hobbies is a new shop located on 97 East Main Street in Norwich, and it is locally owned and operated by Eric Cunningham and his wife, Courtney Cunningham. Eric is an math teacher for Norwich City Schools. The store held its soft opening on August 16, but is scheduled to have a grand opening ceremony on August 31.

During the grand opening event, the business will have special deals and sell limited edition magic the gathering cards only available from Gen Con, and anyone is welcome to attend.

"When the Wolf Gaming Lodge closed down, a lot of people – myself included – lost a home away from home, and I'm hoping we'll be able to create another one with Serenity Hobbies," said Eric Cunningham.

Cunningham said being both a full-time teacher at the school and a business owner may be challenging, but he's looking forward to taking another step forward with his community.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the students who know I'll be here after school came here for homework help, and that's okay," he said. "My goal is to be a community friendly business that can work to bring people, both new and experienced, into the card and board game world."

He added the shop will be hosting weekly tournaments based on surveys customers have filled out, and anyone is welcome to come in and take part in the events.

"In this generation, people seem to prefer avoiding face to face interaction. But by playing with board games and card games, they can change that and build interpersonal communication skills at the same time," said Eric.

Those interested in learning more about the shop or its scheduled tournaments can visit its facebook page at www.facebook.com/serenitynorwich.

Pictured: Norwich Serenity Hobbies Owners Courtney Cunningham and Eric Cunningham. (Zachary Meseck Photo)