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I did a search and found nothing on this. Apparently someone thought the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker was a good location for a gaming store. Dropzone Games is opening up about June 15 in the location of the old Battle Bunker in Glen Burnie. On top of that, appently Tom Gruhalla is going to be the manager for the store. It appears that they are going to support multiple game systems. I think it said about ten tables or so.

They appear to have become the sole U.S. Distributor for a couple of U.K. Miniature ranges. They haven't said which yet.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/DropZoneGames
6711 Baymeadow drive suite J, Glen Burnie, MD 21060

Ugh... Great that there's going to be another FLGS in Maryland, but that's too close to Games and Stuff! That location is gonna mean the stores split a lot of sales which likely hurt both stores.

I can't imagine they couldn't've done better somewhere closer to Laurel/College Park on the 95/Rt 1/295 corridor...

Valete,

JohnS

Games and Stuff is kinda eh when it comes to playing atmosphere to me. What Dropzone has got going is starting to look good so far.

If this store is any relation to this guy, then watch out. He cheated me and several other people (that I know of) when his business "went south".

Lorek wrote:If this store is any relation to this guy, then watch out. He cheated me and several other people (that I know of) when his business "went south".

Gymnogyps mentioned this shop to me in the DCM Brushfire thread, as being run by a Dave [Last Name Unknown] if that helps alleviate/complete any fears?

Fosner1703 wrote:Games and Stuff is kinda eh when it comes to playing atmosphere to me. What Dropzone has got going is starting to look good so far.

I don't know that I'd disagree with the statement about atmosphere. But the point is still that you're still looking at two game stores very close together. I can't help but wonder if they'll suck the oxygen from each other. I know GW was there previously, but they really did serve different markets in a lot of ways. Putting the new store down closer to Laurel would, i would think, give them a different customer base to draw from. Plus, from a purely selfish perspective, would make them a lot more convenient for me! Games and Stuff and the Bunker were both "long lunch" trips from work, or a hour or so round-trip drive from home. Putting something in Laurel would mean a very easy trip out at lunch...

Valete,

JohnS

Lorek wrote:If this store is any relation to this guy, then watch out. He cheated me and several other people (that I know of) when his business "went south".

Different guys. They've come on up to my shop to talk about their opening, and I've known some of them for quite a few years. Tom Gruhala ran the Glen Burnie bunker and was working for GW in the Baltimore area for a long time. Several people involved used to work for GW, and have a lot of gaming and hobby experience.

This store is going to be great! Tom is a great guy and if this store turns out half as well as he has planned this will be the best store in the area!

mikhaila wrote:

Lorek wrote:If this store is any relation to this guy, then watch out. He cheated me and several other people (that I know of) when his business "went south".

Different guys. They've come on up to my shop to talk about their opening, and I've known some of them for quite a few years. Tom Gruhala ran the Glen Burnie bunker and was working for GW in the Baltimore area for a long time. Several people involved used to work for GW, and have a lot of gaming and hobby experience.

Thanks for the endorsement Mike! We look forward to doing some great events together in the coming years.

To Clarify, the linked person is not Dropzone Games. As others have said, DZG is going to be run by Tom who used to run the the GW Bunker in the same location. As far as Games and Stuff, we hope to work with them on mutually beneficial events and promotions to generate an atmosphere of AWESOME gaming proportions. We have our expertise and they have theirs, we believe that we can have a win-win with any shop.

If you are in the area on June 15th, by all means please feel free to stop in and see what we have to offer.

-Dropzone Games
6711 Baymeadow Dr.
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
Opening June 15th

Cyporiean wrote:

Lorek wrote:If this store is any relation to this guy, then watch out. He cheated me and several other people (that I know of) when his business "went south".

Gymnogyps mentioned this shop to me in the DCM Brushfire thread, as being run by a Dave [Last Name Unknown] if that helps alleviate/complete any fears?

Yeah I had the right context, wrong name.

I know many people, including me, are very happy about this store, and can't wait for opening!

In that case, good luck to you! Glad to hear you're not the same person!

Not on The Facebook, so I may have missed it, but what time will the grand opening be on the 15th?

Valete,

JohnS

I am stoked for this! A bit of a drive for me, but the gaming space / atmosphere of the old bunker was fantastic. Good memories... but even better to have an independent store on that site!

I hope you stock the new game Dropzone Commander- a lot of us are interested in it, and come on- it's in your name

Will check out the store either that weekend or the one after!

I'll be back in MD (Hagerstown) at the end of the month and will make sure to make the hike down for a few games on some weekend! New stores (even if far) are always welcome in the area as we can all hope it simply increases the gaming scene rather than splitting it!

cygnnus wrote:Not on The Facebook, so I may have missed it, but what time will the grand opening be on the 15th?

Valete,

JohnS

We open our doors on June 15th at 3pm (closing at 8pm). then on to our normal schedule of:

M-Fr: 12-8
Sat: 10-10
Sun: 12-6

Our "soft opening" Learn to Play Flames of War event was a great day and we thank everyone who was able to attend. We definitely learned a few things (mostly good, a few minor tweaks before this weekend)

We look forward to serving the hobby community for many years to come.

The shop is set up really well, lots of space. Twelve (IIRC) 4x8 tables with terrain. and some where close to 16 or so painting seats, good spread of the more popular wargame mini lines, even some of the resin companies from over seas and battle foam bags. Tom and the guys there will take great care of any one that walk through the door to be sure.

Given Tom's experience I know he will make wise strategic sales/marketing decisions. So someone please explain to me why the store's regular hours will include closing at 8pm on Friday's? Is that so I can NOT drop by after work [on my liesure evening] and still hope to finish a game? I'd be curious to know what game store sales stats are on Friday nights compared to other times (?).

It looks to me like that's a single shift (12 - 8) for weekdays. It's not an issue for me, since it's out of range for me on weekdays, and what I'm really interested in is weekends with all those large tables!

Looking forward to having another store in range with good stock of a range of game systems, as well. Dreamwizards unfortunately doesn't usually have stock, even though it's where I normally game (and I know Games 'n Stuff does, but it's great to have options).

Nurgle's Head Cheese wrote:Given Tom's experience I know he will make wise strategic sales/marketing decisions. So someone please explain to me why the store's regular hours will include closing at 8pm on Friday's? Is that so I can NOT drop by after work [on my liesure evening] and still hope to finish a game? I'd be curious to know what game store sales stats are on Friday nights compared to other times (?).

Our friday night sales are very good, with fridays nearly equaling saturdays, usually the big day of the week for game stores. We stay open until at least midnight, and sometimes to 2am-4am. Just depends on who is staying to game late. Because we are open late, we get a large crowd of gamers most friday nights. More people gaming in the store = more money in the register.

mikhaila wrote:

Nurgle's Head Cheese wrote:Given Tom's experience I know he will make wise strategic sales/marketing decisions. So someone please explain to me why the store's regular hours will include closing at 8pm on Friday's? Is that so I can NOT drop by after work [on my liesure evening] and still hope to finish a game? I'd be curious to know what game store sales stats are on Friday nights compared to other times (?).

Our friday night sales are very good, with fridays nearly equaling saturdays, usually the big day of the week for game stores. We stay open until at least midnight, and sometimes to 2am-4am. Just depends on who is staying to game late. Because we are open late, we get a large crowd of gamers most friday nights. More people gaming in the store = more money in the register.

Good Advice Mike. Once we get rolling, if we have a full store on Friday, most likely we will be adjusting the closing time to later. Everything is still flexible and a work in progress

Sounds like a good idea... the FLGS I usually go to (Dreamwizards) stays open a bit late for us on Wednesdays, since that's "miniatures night". So it may be that there's a particular day that makes sense to stay open later for you guys.

I can't imagine why people want to game on Fridays, though... come on fellas, that's date night

RiTides wrote:Sounds like a good idea... the FLGS I usually go to (Dreamwizards) stays open a bit late for us on Wednesdays, since that's "miniatures night". So it may be that there's a particular day that makes sense to stay open later for you guys.

I can't imagine why people want to game on Fridays, though... come on fellas, that's date night

Strangely, some of the guys come in a lot more often on fridays when they are 'between girlfriends'. ) Although a few just bring the girlfriends along to hang out.

Lol mikhaila

Any chance of a pic of the store / table layout? Is it very similar to how the Bunker was laid out (or even some of the same furniture / etc)?

Total new lay out and everything man, Lots of pics of the store up on their Facebook page.

Dropzone wrote:

cygnnus wrote:Not on The Facebook, so I may have missed it, but what time will the grand opening be on the 15th?

Valete,

JohnS

We open our doors on June 15th at 3pm (closing at 8pm). then on to our normal schedule of:

M-Fr: 12-8
Sat: 10-10
Sun: 12-6

Our "soft opening" Learn to Play Flames of War event was a great day and we thank everyone who was able to attend. We definitely learned a few things (mostly good, a few minor tweaks before this weekend)

We look forward to serving the hobby community for many years to come.

Oh, crud... You guys aren't going to open 'till 3pm on Friday? Nuts.... I can't make it then. Have to be at work at 4pm. I was hoping you'd open at 12... Ah well... . Guess I'm gonna have to miss the event. That's a pity.

Valete,

JohnS

Glad to hear the store is finally getting off the ground (I've been hearing about it from Terry since January at the Wild West Shoot-out ). I'm going to have to try and make it down there later this summer to check it out.

Still no rules though.

Vertrucio wrote:Still no rules though.

That's Dropzone Commander actually.

Bah, *slaps forehead*

Sorry, read all that stuff about "Getting off the ground" and "setting up a store" I thought that other company had just went and skipped some steps.

Anyway, I wish any new game store good business. Gotta have places to play all these fancy new games.

Good to know there's a new store in town -

I will definitely have to check it out.