By BRANDON LaCHANCE

Staff writer

MENDOTA – Nick Arteaga had thought about an idea.

Others had continuously mentioned it to him.

Then he forgot.

Until he was reminded and thought if the idea keeps coming back around, it’s officially time to make it happen.

The proposal turned reality is Liam’s Marketplace, a consignment shop located at 809 Washington St. in Mendota, which used to be Pohl’s Office Supply.

“I was into Pokémon cards and other cards when I was younger and then got back into them about two years ago,” said Arteaga, 25. “I had a good time with it. I use eBay. I did pretty good on eBay and became a top seller. Then I started doing card shows. I went up to Janesville, Wis. or Bridgeview to different card shows.

“I thought about doing a small card shop in town. I thought I’d do fine, but there weren’t any small buildings for sale in Mendota. The ones that were available, weren’t priced fairly for what I wanted.”

While he was going to card shows, his friend Miguel Bermudez hyped up the idea of a consignment shop.

Through a busy schedule and having other priorities, Arteaga misplaced the thought of a shop.

“I forgot about it for a while. I was talking to my parents, Rudy and Michelle Arteaga, about what’s next. My mom said the same thing Miguel did and told me, ‘You should rent spaces and help people sell their stuff.’ When she said it, she made me remember having the conversations before.

“I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’ We found the building. My parents bought the building from Pohl’s Office Supply. They own the building, I got the LLC and own the business, and I am the manpower.”

Arteaga named his new business which he opened during the end of November, is named after his 2-year-old son Liam.

Although he still works for his parent’s business, Pizzas by Marchelloni’s, he is there half the amount of time he used to be to run and operate Liam’s Marketplace.

In the consignment, Arteaga has rented out space to different vendors. The vendor pays accordingly to the amount of size they need in the building.

In December, Arteaga had his setup, Pizza Guy’s Collectibles, on Facebook and eBay, Davey N’Miggy’s Toys (Bermudez), Tokie Vintage Thrift Shop (Toby and Jackie Fitzgerald), Crafty Creations (Connie Ganz), Ramon’s Vintage Wear, and sports memorabilia (Mike Kilmartin).

The vendors can set up their items to sell and don’t have to be there to sell them. Arteaga sells them for the vendors for a 10 percent of the sticker price at the end of the month.

Along with the different vendors offering different items, is a PlayStation 5 table with four different consoles where gamers can pay $20 for two at a station with $5 per extra head, up to four people. The TVs mounted on the wall are moveable for plenty of space as Arteaga is planning Madden, NBA 2K, MLB The Show, Call of Duty, and other tournaments.

Rudy Arteaga plans to have a golf simulator for those anxious to swing a club and Nick Arteaga is interested in starting Magic the Gathering, Dungeon & Dragons, Pokémon, and other card games.

“It’s been great. Liam’s has received great feedback from the community. It’s made me feel great,” Nick Arteaga said. “You get scared doing something like this when it’s brand new. I know I couldn’t keep this place with just eBay sales.”

“Liam’s Marketplace offers a little bit of everything. I’m completely OK with it.”