The Match Slip

A visit from a Pokemon collector, Deep Pocket Monster, would prove to be an amazing opportunity for Tabletop Tavern's store owner, Jimmy. The popular Pokemon YouTuber attended a Pokemon trade night hosted at the store that brought more community to Jimmy's store and showcased the great things this store is doing.

Jimmy's store is located in Chula Vista, California. He's been a fan of Magic: The Gathering since the early 90s, and now running a game store with his older brother is a dream come true. The store has ~1,000 sq. ft. of play space and ~750 sq. ft. of retail space. He has the luxury of having three buildings - only two are in use. The third building, Jimmy says, will be used to bring back Tabletop Tasty's, a burger and fries offering that was put aside after a sewer pipe break. After an 8-9 month process, it's nearing relaunch.

Jimmy's full-time job is as an educator, and running a game store is purely a labor of love. He takes no money out of the store and instead reinvests back into it. That reinvestment includes plans for corn hole and bonfire pit. Giving back to the community is of most importance to Jimmy.

While the game store is a joy, one of his passions is escape rooms. He originally thought he would open one himself, but the manual labor involved appeared daunting. However, due to circumstances, he was able to acquire Steal and Escape.

As he looks towards the future, a second location in National City, California, is on the horizon.

In this episode, we're talking with Lex, owner of Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo in Chicago, Illinois. This episode was recorded live at Dragon Con 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The store was born in 2008 after a store Lex worked at called Gamers Paradise went out of business. He's been a gamer since youth, with his first love being Dungeons & Dragons. The store sports 3,000 board games in their lending library for free, with 50% of the store occupied by tables and chairs.

Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo is more than just board games. According to Lex, they cater to all the giant fandoms. For example, we're told that they sell as much Warhammer 40,000 as they do Magic: The Gathering. However, EDH is their biggest night in terms of gaming. Moreover, they provide weekly open play and "learn how to play" nights for various games.

Conventions are another aspect of the business and something Lex enjoys going to. He says it's his way of re-engaging why you do what you do. This is evident by his more than a decade of attendance at Dragon Con. 2024 marks his twelfth year vending.

While he has ten employees and two managers, Lex concedes that "staffing is hard." Employees specialize, but with the volume of online orders incoming, everyone needs to do a little of everything. Scaling is challenging when factoring in the number of products that come in a year and deciding what to buy. This is where Lex says you "read the room" and pay attention to what your audience wants.

In addition to dealing with shipments as his primary responsibility, Lex holds events at breweries and libraries and hosts Dungeons & Dragons birthday parties, all to help facilitate the growth of gaming.

We're chatting with Van's Comics and Games store owner, Travis.

The store is located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and was originally owned by Van, hence the name. Van is a family friend of Travis and owned the store for 20 years before passing the torch. At the time, the focus was on comics. There are currently 80-100,000 unique back issues. When the reigns were passed, Travis kept the store name to recognize the legacy Van had built. With 8+ years under his belt, Travis's store is 28 years old and counting.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Travis has a passion for Warhammer 40,000 and also enjoys Magic: The Gathering. With 1,500-2,000 sq. ft. of play space, the former supports 10 6x4 full-size wooden tables for players. Overall, the store is 6,000 sq. ft. The store supports 100 people for card games and can expand the space to 300-400 people for major tournaments.

In addition to gaming, Travis and his wife's family own all the Papa John's restaurants in the area, so there's always free pizza for events. Moreover, the store has a full bar so customers can grab a drink between games. Should players have their fill at the game store, Travis also owns a restaurant called Black Axes, where customers can go to grab food and a drink or partake in axe throwing.

With 6 employees, excluding the owners, Travis and the team always think of unique ideas for the store. For example, this year (2024), they're holding a carnival in the store's parking lot.

While he never looks to throw the same party twice, Travis is always marinating new plans. For example, he's looking to expand the store to 12,000 sq. ft.

In this episode, we talk with Brenton and Nugget, two of The Deck Box's three owners in Fletcher, North Carolina.

Early on, there were plans to run a comic book store, having started as a backpack trader. When the switch to having a game store began 16 years ago, it originated in a flea market with 1,100 sq. ft. The store slowly grew with its community for 6 months before a prime opportunity arose to buy a dedicated shop.

The Deck Box has a large selection of games totaling 12 - 13. However, there are plans to add more in the future. The most popular game at the store is Magic: The Gathering. However, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon had to be moved to two separate days. Both games experience large attendance numbers. From a financial perspective, One Piece is best for the store due to scarcity and collectibility.

In addition to the three owners, the store employs seven full-timers and one part-timer. They have a front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house operation for retail and gaming, respectively. All employees are cross-trained in multiple aspects of the store, but back-of-the-house employees tend to stick to handling online orders and pulling cards.

Marketing the store consists of billboards, print, and attending conventions. The goal when attending conventions is to draw people back to their store rather than sales. This has been a successful venture, but both owners say acquiring high-end products their customers want can be difficult as those sell off quickly.

Looking to the future, the hope is for a second store. However, the biggest takeaway is they love their job and running the store. It's fun for them and their community building is the store's strength.