Running since 1980, this north Asheville shop pairs deep comic racks with TCG singles, Heroclix and RPGs under one long-standing roof.
Pastimes has been part of north Asheville's retail landscape since 1980, when it opened as a record store called Record Survival. The records gave way to comics, the comics brought in games, and four decades later the shop at 175 Weaverville Road occupies a category all its own: part comic store, part game store, part local institution.
For card players and collectors the draw is the game side. Trading card singles and sealed product share space with Heroclix, role-playing systems, and a broad supplies section, so a trip that starts as a card run often turns into something longer. The comics inventory is genuinely deep, spanning new-release racks through graphic novels, and Funko Pops, statues and action figures fill out the remaining wall space. It is a store built by accumulation rather than merchandising plan, which is exactly why regulars like it.
Reviews repeatedly land on the same detail: staff who engage rather than hover. One customer wrote about her boyfriend finding a card he had been hunting for years, at a price that surprised them both. Another mentioned being handed free extra books on the way out. That kind of thing does not happen at chains.
Practical notes for a visit. The suite letter matters, so look for Ste Y rather than assuming the storefront number alone will get you there. Parking is a private lot, bike parking is available, and the space is wheelchair accessible. Hours are among the most predictable of any Asheville card shop: 11AM to 7PM Monday through Saturday, then noon to 5PM on Sunday.
If you are working through the Asheville shops in one day, Pastimes pairs naturally with the Merrimon Avenue corridor, and the later weekday close makes it a workable after-work stop when most of the region's card counters have already locked up.
