A custom built Optimus Prime semi truck by “Optimus is Here” and a Bumblebee Volkswagon Beetle from “Transformers.”
Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy
WILBRAHAM — Over 3,000 people flocked to Wilbraham’s HasBeen Toys and Comics on March 28 to celebrate the store’s two year anniversary.
Visitors were greeted by Optimus Prime from the “Transformers” series and getting the chance to sit in a DMC DeLorean, the 1980s sports car famously featured in “Back to the Future.”
Rik Alvarez has owned the Frame and Picture Shoppe since 2021 and split it in two to open HasBeen in 2024, mainly for his lifelong dream of owning a collectible toy store and the joy that collecting brings.
What initially began as a “side hustle” is proving that nostalgia has a special place in many hearts.
Shoppers wait outside HasBeen Toys and Comics its anniversary sale, at points becoming nearly two hours just to get into the store. Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy 
The DMC DeLorean and owner John Dowd. Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy 
A real life Optimus Prime walks around and greets shoppers. Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy 
K.I.T.T from “Knight Rider.” Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy 
A van inspired by Mr. T’s in “The A-Team.” Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy
“When I started the store, I thought it would make $100 or $200 a week, you know, I do frames, that’s my main job,” Alvarez said. “In the last two years, HasBeen has outperformed my frame shop by about three times, and so HasBeen has become my main thing and the frame shop, which I trained for, I apprenticed for, it’s been in Wilbraham for 40 years, is now kind of the side hustle.”
Alvarez worked at Play With This Toys and Collectibles in Merchantville, New Jersey, throughout high school and college, intending to name his store Play With This Too in honor of his mentor, Scott Talis. Alvarez was also the creative manager at Hasbro for the “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” brands, and instead went with the current name after being called a “has been” online for booking a convention appearance.
He said one of the things he loves about collecting and what inspired him to open HasBeen is the way it unifies people and brings communities together.
“No matter where you come from, no matter who you are, what you believe in, all those barriers that divide us all kind of fade away when we’re all celebrating pop culture,” Alvarez said. “We all collect different things in different ways, but we all have an understanding of what it’s like to collect and the joy that it brings us.”
The 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider,” a GMC Vandura van from “The A-Team,” a “Ghostbusters” inspired car and various cars from the “Transformers” series were also at the event, including a custom built Optimus Prime semi-truck and Bumblebee Volkswagen Beetle.
Alvarez added that he booked several cars to be at the event but was surprised when people were showing up with their own, such as those from “Jurassic Park.” He said that this event showed him that next year can be even bigger, maybe with a couple more cars, food trucks and parking, adding that he apologizes to Wilbraham for all of the traffic.
