For Nick Lavallee, opening Wicked Joyful is the realization of a dream stemming from an enduring love for Manchester. The colorful storefront is packed with vintage toys, pop culture collectibles, original apparel and Lavallee’s custom-made action figures. Behind it is a story about building community.
Lavallee spent more than 21 years directing Merrimack Community TV and serves as president of the NH Coalition for Community Media. “It took me a long time to realize this, but I’m a community builder,” he says. “I think that’s what has made Wicked Joyful successful.”
Launched in 2019, Wicked Joyful was originally intended as an online showcase for Lavallee’s vintage toy collection. Instead, people wanted the custom action figures made from repurposed toys. “The first person to buy one of my custom figures was Adam F. Goldberg, creator of The Goldbergs,” Lavallee says.
His work gained national attention through social media and collaborations with musicians and entertainment brands. But it was his “Chicken Tender Capital of the World” campaign that made him a hometown celebrity. (Chicken tenders were invented at the Puritan Backroom in 1974.) “I realized Hyperlocal stories can resonate on a much bigger scale.” he says.
That caught the attention of the developers behind Queen City Center, who invited Lavallee to open the brick-and-mortar location downtown. “They didn’t just want the retail shop,” he says. “They wanted the energy I bring because I’ve always been such a champion of Manchester.”
Today, visitors can browse collectibles, play free arcade games, relax in an ‘80s-inspired living room, and pose with purchases served in signature chicken tender baskets.
Lavallee is proud that he didn’t use loans or investors for the business. “Everything about Wicked Joyful was built from selling those first custom action figures,” he says.
