Rurouni Foodie is a retail toy store that specializes in anime-based characters
It would be reasonably expected that someone might assume a business named Rurouni Foodie would be some kind of restaurant or food store.
Not so for this little shop tucked inside a new small shopping center in Martinez.
Inside Rurouni Foodie are hundreds, maybe more, of small dolls depicting characters created in a distinct style of Japanese animation called anime.
The main line is called Funko Pop and is characterized by colorful graphics, diverse art styles, and characters with expressive faces, including large eyes and unique hairstyles. They are fun and very popular.
And Wilson Fung has a lot of them to sell.
So what about the name – Rurouni Foodie?
“Because I like food,” he said.
Rurouni means wandering in Japanese, he explained. And since he loves to go to places to eat and write about the food, he’s a foodie. Together, in English, that’s Wandering Foodie, he said.
Fung was born in Hong Kong and moved to California. After he joined the military, he came to Fort Gordon.
In 2020, he began selling liquidation sale items at the Barnyard Flea Market in south Augusta. He and a friend sold liquidation items on Amazon, and this spring he decided to open his own brick-and-mortar store.
Fung said he carries different product lines and collectibles. The shop’s aisles are lined with anime characters in all shapes and sizes.
Some of the characters are sports figures, and characters from popular films like “Stranger Things”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “Star Wars”, and “The Godfather”.
There’s a signed Vampirella doll, from the comic book series of the same name, and a Lion-O character from “ThunderCats” with a flocked, furry texture. Fung also sells character backpacks and some other vintage-type toys.
Prices vary. A signed collectible can fetch several hundred dollars or more, he said.
There are cartoon characters, singers, and groups like Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, and Guns and Roses, as well as from cartoons like the “Hungry Hippo” and “ThunderCats”.
Fung buys and sells at conventions, or cons, held throughout the U.S. He just returned from Houston and said he’ll be at JoeFest, a G.I. Joe-focused con, in Augusta in the spring. He mostly travels throughout the Southeast.
Rurouni Foodie is located at 110 Davis Rd. in Martinez and is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
The store can be found online on Facebook and eBay under the store name.
− Jennifer Miller covers food and business for The Augusta Chronicle. She can be reached at jmiller@gannett.com.
