Ray Smith spent two decades in the auto industry, doing everything from selling cars to serving as a general manager.
This year he decided to turn his focus to the type of cars that fit in the palm of your hand.
“I went from selling big cars to small cars,” said Smith, the owner of Phoenix Diecast, a new businesses centered on diecast cars such as Hot Wheels and Matchbox, as well as other collectibles and toys.
Phoenix Diecast opened last month at 6125 N. Second St., taking over the former LADIWORKZ business incubator space. The company will hold its first toy show bringing together various toy and collectibles vendors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The shows will happen the last Sunday of every month.
Smith has been collecting and selling diecast cars for years, amassing a large following on Whatnot, a social marketplace for buying, selling and auctioning off a variety of merchandise. He decided to open a physical store in order to create a space for kids and adult collectors alike to find both camaraderie and the toy or rare collectible they’re looking for.
“You know when you were a kid, you had that safe place where you could always go and just hangout? That’s what I want this to be,” Smith said. “If somebody comes in right now and says, ‘I want a wheel swap.’ There’s a table setup right there where they can sit down and chill. I want this to be the hangout.”
Phoenix Diecast is designed for both kids who want to tear open the packaging and play with a race car right away and for collectors who nostalgia-inducing keepsakes, some that date back decades and still have unpunched packaging that has never been hung on a store rack.
You can find Muscle Machines, Johnny Lightning, Matchbox, Auto World, Jada and Neverland, among other items.
“There’s a big eclectic community and we want to have something for everybody,” Smith said. “Honestly, I want to be the biggest toy store in the Midwest.”
