As a child living in Pensacola, Florida, Jonathan Mashburn had a passion for electronics. “I loved electronics. I would go to the used book depository and buy them cheap and tinker with them, often reselling them. For years I wanted to do this on the side.”
The spirit of entrepreneurship was alive in Jonathan from a young age. When his family moved to Berks County in 2008, he began as a 9th grade student at Wilson High School in the winter of the 2008-09. “During my senior year in high school, I had an internship in which I was able to work with IT, and which helped me to decide what I wanted to do for a career. I gained a lot of experience at Wilson and picked up a lot along the way by tinkering with electronics, which led me to my present job as tech support staff member, working for the Governor Mifflin Intermediate School since 2019.
The entrepreneur in Jonathan began to stir, and he started taking action to realize his dream of opening a gaming business. “I had been planning this for years, looking for spaces in 2021, and I got the ball rolling in 2022. My partner, Javon Phillips, a co-worker I met at Mifflin and I, found the right fit and obtained the funding and things started to become a reality. This had been a long-term goal for me since I was an elementary student.”
On January 4, 2025, Johnathan and his partner opened Lounge Around Games Co., located at the Berkshire Mall,1665 State Hill Road, Suite 600, Wyomissing, Pa. 19610. “We are located across from FYE in the Berkshire Mall. Our gaming lounge is filled with consoles of every generation, plus over 1000 games from the 80’s to today. You can visit the Gaming Lounge section of our website for a list of the consoles and games available to play on each console. We also sell games, electronics, media, collectibles, and more. It is a place where people can get away with friends and family to enjoy gaming, or to enjoy gaming by yourself for an hour or several hours.”
The business has been a popular place for gaming enthusiasts and groups like RACC Esports, gaming competitively against each other, fundraisers, and birthday parties for up to 40 people. “We are working on engaging more with the community, especially children and youth who lack places to gather for fun in a safe and monitored situation. We’ve hosted kids from the Children’s Home of Reading, and other non-profit groups, and one-on-one emotional support workers will bring clients here as well. There is plenty of room in our 2,400-foot area to host these groups. On our retail end, we sell a mix of similar items, video games and movies, music and collectibles. We are starting to work with consignments as well.”
At a crossroads…
During their first year in business, Jonathan and his partner experienced good traffic and a healthy response from the public which, unfortunately, has been gradually hampered by uncertainty looming over the fate of the Berkshire Mall.
“We are content where we are, and presently we could have a ton more foot traffic right now, which is not what it was a year ago, due to the ongoing publicity surrounding the sale of the Berkshire Mall and possible plans to demolish it and replace it with something completely different.”
So far, the sale has not taken place, and no concrete plan has been approved to date. “I am hoping that the mall is not demolished, leaving so many small business owners out of jobs or displaced. An indoor shopping mall is a great model for our business and so many of the other businesses located within the mall. This environment is most successful, and none of us want it to go away.”
Several years ago, a Wyomissing borough official publicly stated that they were inviting small businesses to establish themselves in their community. There are currently around 60 small local businesses in the mall. The Berkshire Mall, although in need of some repair and upgrading, is one of the best examples of a vintage mall which once served as a bustling hub for families and community during its heyday. Perhaps the right developer could purchase the property and completely restore it, maintaining its original retro charm and filling the empty spaces with a much-needed mix of family-centered places to gather, places to eat, and retail shops, while maintaining a community vibe.
“There are hundreds of people involved in the local small businesses at the Berkshire Mall, and they all feel that the mall should be renovated rather than demolished. It is a great place for new businesses, especially small businesses, and I even suggested at a recent town hall meeting with Senator Judy Schwank, that it could also serve as a small business incubator for entrepreneurs to test the waters. She replied, ‘I like the way you worded that.’”
While the fate of the Berkshire Mall hangs in limbo, Jonathan continues to think about the future of his business and goals he would like to achieve. “I would like to become more involved with the community in giving young people a place to get together. It is becoming well known that teens are beginning to hang out at Target and on the parking lot for lack of a better place to go. The mall closes at eight, so I would like to see that change and have younger people taking notice.”
Jonathan continues to actively serve as a voice for his fellow business owners, and his community at large. “I just got married on October 4, 2025, to my wife Haley. We reside in West Lawn. She is very involved with the business, and we have goals for the future which involve being community oriented with emphasis on becoming a new and different place for our community.”
For more information visit loungearoundgames.square.site or visit them on Facebook or Instagram.
