Overview
If you're a Sydneysider with a serious love for all things Harry Potter, then you've probably made the trip down to Canberra's Quizzic Alley. The Fyshwick store stocks a huge range of official merchandise, whether you're after a new wand, a Gryffindor robe or a pair of Hogwarts Express mule slippers. Come December, however, New South Wales-based wannabe witches and wizards won't have to visit the ACT to browse the shop's jam-packed shelves.
While an exact opening date hasn't been announced, Quizzic Alley is launching a Sydney store before Christmas hits — likely in the first week of December. To accio up some wizarding items and objects, you'll be heading to the old Bank of New South Wales building on Victoria Road in Drummoyne, where you'll feel as excited as a new arrival at Hogwarts.
Or, maybe you'll feel as thrilled as a first-time quidditch player. Backpacks, pens and puzzles dedicated to the sport all feature among Quizzic Alley's range — and you can take home a golden snitch, too. Also on the shelves, you'll find everything from chocolate frogs and Slytherin socks to alohomora charm pins and baby niffler toys.
Quizzic Alley's Canberra store includes a Ford Anglia that you can sit in, serves butterscotch flavoured non-alcoholic beers called QBrew and lets patrons try out the sorting hat. Just what the Sydney shop will feature hasn't been revealed yet either — it won't have a car, though — but the fact that it'll call a former bank home will obviously inspire thoughts of Gringotts. "The two stores are completely different from the outside and, although the merch we sell will be the same, the experience in Drummoyne will be new," says owner Michael Milton. "It's reminiscent of a certain magical bank and we're having so much fun fitting it out."
Milton, a Paralympic skiier with six gold medals to his name, opened the first Quizzic Alley two years ago — and says that it is frequently filled with fans travelling down to peruse its wares. "Every weekend, every school holidays, during the ski season… we get a lot of Potterheads from Sydney dropping in to Quizzic Alley. Some even make the trip especially," he notes.
Quizzic Alley will open on Victoria Road in Drummoyne sometime in early December — keep an eye on the store's website and Facebook page for further details.