Comic Zen is Lansdale’s Business of the Month for August 2019.
Owner and sole employee Tim Hershey received the award Wednesday from
Lansdale’s Economic Development Committee at borough council’s monthly business meeting. The shop, at 301 W. Main Street, celebrates its third anniversary next month.
"Comics are a way to do what we humans do best,” EDC member Alex Felts said. "They are a way to tell stories, a way for us to escape our daily lives. Comic book characters are the backbone of our movie industry,
producing billion-dollar franchises year after year.”
Comic Zen sells comics and graphic novels, action figures and collectibles, trade paperback collections, T shirts, and more. And while Hershey hasn’t hit his own first billion yet, he is dedicated to his audience – and to Lansdale.
"Tim and his family have been Lansdale residents for over 20 years, and he has always dreamed of opening his own comic shop,” said Felts. After lunch one day at Yanni’s down the street, "Tim walked by the space at 301 W. Main Street with a rent sign in the window, and within a matter of hours he was on his way to becoming a Lansdale business owner.”
Hershey called the borough’s assistance through the permitting and inspection process "instrumental,” said Felts. And Hershey is "committed to being in Lansdale for the long haul. After all, the Hershey family lives here, their two daughters go to school here, and now, Tim runs a business here.”
Comic fans and casual shoppers alike will find Hershey at his front counter, six days and about 50 hours a week. "He strives to form a personal relationship with his customers,” said Felts. "As Tim will tell you himself, he cares much more that customers leave his store happy, than if they end up purchasing anything.”
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