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Ladies and Gentlemen, loyal fans of the Bowie Bunker: We have an important announcement.

We will be closed from April 20th to April 22nd, and will re - open on April the 23rd as a one-man store. Watch this space for more information regarding the new schedule. We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your ongoing and continued support of us here at GW Bowie. The store will remain the same size and setup this is merely a changing of the guard.

This was just posted on their facebook page.

I'm pretty bummed because everyone that works there are really great guys, it's the store where my wife and I started playing and they've been really helpful and friendly to us.

I'm not sure how its supposed to function because its a huge store, and I'm not sure it will see nearly as much business with the local Dropzone game store nearby that is always open.

At this point, GW should just close it's locations in North America, treat Independent Retailers with some respect, and hire a management team who understands the current marketplace. The European model doesn't work here, so stop banging that square peg into a round hole.

 the_Armyman wrote:
At this point, GW should just close it's locations in North America, treat Independent Retailers with some respect, and hire a management team who understands the current marketplace. The European model doesn't work here, so stop banging that square peg into a round hole.

Agreed

My friend just pointed this out to me.

http://careers.games-workshop.com/2014/03/12/store-manager-bowie-md/

So they are retaining no one it seems?

 Iechine wrote:
My friend just pointed this out to me.

http://careers.games-workshop.com/2014/03/12/store-manager-bowie-md/

So they are retaining no one it seems?

Serves GW right when they lose business then.

 Iechine wrote:
My friend just pointed this out to me.

http://careers.games-workshop.com/2014/03/12/store-manager-bowie-md/

So they are retaining no one it seems?

Right or wrong, it's pretty standard to make everyone reapply for their job. They have one opening and multiple employees vying for the spot. There may even be a labor law or just good HR practices governing that decision.

 the_Armyman wrote:
At this point, GW should just close it's locations in North America, treat Independent Retailers with some respect, and hire a management team who understands the current marketplace. The European model doesn't work here, so stop banging that square peg into a round hole.

Doesn't work over here either really :(

Same thing happened at Seattle. Give it six months and the Bowie location will close altogether. A one-man shop can't justify the rent of all that unused space.

Agreed Breotan. And we were just talking about it still being a bunker while the Memphis one was downsizing to 1-man, and that's its days were numbered. Turns out those days were less than anticipated. Lol.

Why bother reopening it in MD a few years after closing it originally, only to close it again now/soon? GW has no idea what they're doing with their stores.

when the re-do a store managers have to re-apply for the role

some have been re-hired, some have not

I want to have something witty and snarky to say, but christ I'm just bummed now.

 Lansirill wrote:
I want to have something witty and snarky to say, but christ I'm just bummed now.

I know man.

My wife and I would not have jumped on Warhammer 40k had we not driven by the Bowie location one day on the way to dinner and seen it/stopped by/got hooked.

I cant express enough how good their crew was there, GW is screwing up. That store was packed with players.

lechine, it was the same for the old bunker location up in Glen Burnie. There is now a fantastic independent FLGS in that same location where it used to be, run by the former manager of that Bunker no less!

http://www.dropzone-games.com/

Highly recommended, and even more gaming space than the Bunker yet still with the very clean GW store feel. I really like gaming there, although it can be quite popular and they've been out of a new release I came by to see/get a couple times (if this happens, another great store, Games 'n Stuff, is just 5 minutes away).

We've had no bunker in this area for years.
The smaller shops are catering to magic and it's next to impossible to get a good game in unless you go to someone's house...
I wonder what GW is actually thinking.....
Heck, I tried to get my WHW Friday and they told me they would order it.... I could pick it up in two weeks....
Starting to get disappointing.....

This is great news!

it had to be said...

They screwed the Annapolis store by opening the Bowie Bunker, ultimately causing one of their highest selling stores to close. Did *anyone* really think the bunker was in a good location!???! If they'd put it in the 95/295/1 corridor close enough to College Park and Columbia, they might have had a chance. But buried deep in Bowie? A waste...

Edit: Have to throw a shout out to Games and Stuff. Really, really good store. Lots of parking, tons of gaming space, great staff and a great diverse stock from minis, to euros, to CCG, to RPG stuff. And the location is pretty convenient to anyone who can head towards Baltimore.

Valete,

JohnS

They had a good crowd most of the times I went there, which was every week or two. I suspect the change has less to do with the store's performance than new corporate paradigm realignment synergies. The location wasn't the best but it didn't seem to be hurting the shop too much. Depending on how hard the transition to a 1-man shop hits the store I may still go, but Dropzone is only another 10-20 minutes away depending on traffic so I suspect that's going to become my new store. That or I'll just stick to Warstore and Miniature Market, and do my gaming at home.

 Iechine wrote:
That store was packed with players.

Sadly, 'packed with players' does not mean 'packed with customers'.

I am curious what they will do with the space, because it really was an odd space. It was a long hallway between two stores and the space was on the back-size of the building, so they don't even have a WINDOW of storefront. I also can't see how they can give back some of the space so I can't imagine downsizing staff will result in downsizing rent. I suspect the decision to close has already been made, but they are stuck in a lease so the 1-man store is just an attempt to use the space and try to cover some of the costs until the current lease ends.

I used to go to that bunker but soon as I went to Dropzone games I never went back. It was a lot more relaxed and I could play my Typhus zombie army (I used mantic zombies and thus couldn't play in the bunker)

I even saw a lot of the guys that worked in the bunker come to Dropzone to play along with a good bit of the regulars. I hated the location of the bunker as well, parking was bad and I had to fight traffic to get there.

 RiTides wrote:
Agreed Why bother reopening it in MD a few years after closing it originally, only to close it again now/soon?

They still have a lease. They'll maintain the one-man operation until that lease is up, at which time they'll close the store entirely.

 RiTides wrote:
lechine, it was the same for the old bunker location up in Glen Burnie. There is now a fantastic independent FLGS in that same location where it used to be, run by the former manager of that Bunker no less!

http://www.dropzone-games.com/

Highly recommended, and even more gaming space than the Bunker yet still with the very clean GW store feel. I really like gaming there, although it can be quite popular and they've been out of a new release I came by to see/get a couple times (if this happens, another great store, Games 'n Stuff, is just 5 minutes away).

Yea man, I referenced it in my first post. But I think we'll be going there after this whole thing goes down. The only reason I bought things occasionally from GW was to support the guys working there. Now I have no reason to go there. (DZ is closer)

Kicking folks out during the sole staffer's lunches, unable to handle multiple issues at one time among other things =

To best serve our customers and the gaming community. Buy and get out.

Games Workshop: Bowie is my local store. It is one of the last if not the last in the US to have a staff and be open 7 days/week. When GW gutted their own flagship store in Memphis, TN just a few weeks ago I knew it wouldn't be long till they destroyed the "Bowie Battle Bunker" as well. What kind of company guts their flagship store?! GW not only doesn't seem to worry about having a bad image, they don't seem concerned with having any image at all! For a company that advertises virtually only through word-of-mouth and their licensed products, killing their own flagship store for their largest market outside their home country says a whole lot about their current attitude. They don't seem to have any concern for what makes people actually want to buy their products or for what keeps people doing it over time.

Meanwhile, I have tons of models on display at that store I'll have to pack up and take home because none of the current staff will be remaining after April 19 and I therefore will have no assurance after that of being able to reclaim my models in the future.

Hmm. Wonder if Glen Burnie game stores will become the next closest hub for GW gamers who used Bowie?

I know it's not closing down but the down throttle seems like it will impact gaming opportunities there. Anything closer to Bowie than Glen Burnie independents?

Dream Wizards... but you already know about that steaming pile.

You mean my usual gaming store?

(I can't disagree with you, but there's not much else close to it location-wise)

 Lansirill wrote:
Dream Wizards... but you already know about that steaming pile.

Ha Ha!
/Nelson Muntz.

Have they ever vacuumed in that place? Filthy store. I think they brough the dirt with them from the old location in Congressional Plaza. They certainly brought a bunch of the old junk. Still hadn't sold any of it last time I was there in 2009. My deepest sympathies to anyone who plays in that erm, uh, well, I guess I have to call it a GS.

Games N Stuff and Dropzone Games. Both in Glen Burnie, and Dropzone is in the old Battle Bunker location to boot. Those can be called FLGSs. Sadly, nothing west of I-95 can be called a FLGS these days :(

 Lansirill wrote:
Dream Wizards... but you already know about that steaming pile.

Works great if they can make it on WED nights since that's the only day/night I'm aware DW allows minis gaming.
CCGs keep those doors open so it makes sense to keep CCGers happy.

I don't think dirt makes anyone happy, though

Anyway, if you go wayyyyy west, Huzzah Hobbies is absolutely sweet! But it's in Virginia. So yeah, I agree that there's a bit of a desert in the middle.

If you just need to buy something, not game, there's a GW in Columbia still with a really nice manager... not much he can do about GW's policies, but I stop buy and get a kit from him every once in a while when I need to, because he's a decent guy.

^^^ Maybe Pig-Pen?

A place in Gaithersburg called Beyond Comics claims to have table space for 40k on their open gaming nights. You could check that out if you're nearby. I'd call and ask first.

 RiTides wrote:
I don't think dirt makes anyone happy, though

Anyway, if you go wayyyyy west, Huzzah Hobbies is absolutely sweet! But it's in Virginia. So yeah, I agree that there's a bit of a desert in the middle.

If you just need to buy something, not game, there's a GW in Columbia still with a really nice manager... not much he can do about GW's policies, but I stop buy and get a kit from him every once in a while when I need to, because he's a decent guy.

The manager at GW Columbia is a good guy, no doubt. But even though the GW store is about 5 minutes from my house, I'll drive the extra 10-15 minutes to get to Games and Stuff (or another 5 to Dropzone if G&S doesn't have what I'm looking for) every time. GW quite simply provides me with zero reason to go to their stores at this point.

Funny cuz way back in the day, GW's stores in College Park and Laurel were my holy-of-holy's, my personal nerdvana! Now they just feel claustrophobic. Not only because of the small physical size, but because of how limiting they are in terms of gaming in general. There's just so much good stuff out there outside of the "GW Hobby", when you step out from that shadow, it just opens up a whole world.

Valete,

JohnS