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Good afternoon everyone, as you probably read im planning on opening up a game store somewhere in the greater chicago area maybe somewhere in norhern illinois or even southern wisconsin (kenosha area) i say this because i want to know where YOU guys think a local retailer is needed. it doesn't matter if you want it there becasue thers no retailers, no good retialers, or even if you just want a better local shop. my main focus will be wargames (40k, Aos, warmahords, xwing, etc) but also selling some specialty board games, trading cards and other various nerdy items. so let me know where YOU feel a store is needed, and feel free to tell me any ideas you have to make the best gaming store around. any idea will help

cheers

Best suggestion would be to look where GW closed stores and not closed them for sales reasons. Look where they were closed in favor of the new model stores that are micro shops with little to no gaming area, no painting stations, etc. Those stores had communities. Also follow the money. The biggest buyers of gaming stuff are not the old timers or the long running players, they still buy but its little timmy and his mommy's credit card that do the biggest buying. Affluent areas that have a gaming community but can bring in the new players. I was once told by a GW manager that the average player after their first year spend ~$300 a year. The new player in their first year spend ~$800 in that year. Good luck miniatures are hard to make money from, magic prints money.

I would try the Harlem Irving Plaza area. There is a store front open right now as well. There actually was a store there over a year ago, and it was bustling with business. but: another shop opened up about a mile away, one of the two owners moved and the other owner was lazy so they closed down. The other shop also closed because the first shop put them out of business. lol

I would also advise to sell Magic the Gathering and Yugio. That brought in a TON of business for them.

This location has a ton of traffic, its also right next door to the well known Rolling Stones store and across the street from a mall.

2.)

He is another location - 7701 W Belmont Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707

This used to be an antique toy store called Forever Young. They seem to be open still but there are for sale signs all over the building. and theres not much left inside. This is a good size lot on the corner of a busy street between Elmwood Park and Chicago. Also has parking which is always nice.

If I were to pick a store to shop at it would b the 2nd choice. Its a much bigger store and with more parking. Either way if you build, people will come. There isn't a store close to either location. The closest store to either one is about a 40 min drive because of city traffic.

Either way, if you open up a store somewhere by the NW side of Chicago let me know! We are dieing for a new store to be opened!!!

be prepared to be poor for a while, a long while anyway

Wish you all the best. You will be rich soon.

There is NOTHING on the South Side of Chicago but that's because it's the ghetto with gang shootings all the time.

Keep to the Northside. But DO NOT go ANYWHERE NEAR the Dice Dojo in Byr Mar - the best Game Store in the state with a MASSIVE Play area.

DorianGray wrote:
There is NOTHING on the South Side of Chicago but that's because it's the ghetto with gang shootings all the time.

Keep to the Northside. But DO NOT go ANYWHERE NEAR the Dice Dojo in Byr Mar - the best Game Store in the state with a MASSIVE Play area.

True, I heard this place is great, to bad downtown parking sucks and so does the traffic getting there. Me be from the Northside, i wouldn't bother with the drive. :(

I live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago and I love the Dice Dojo as do many of us around here but for me personally it is a bitch to get to. Weeknight gaming is at the Dojo is not an option for me, period, because it takes about an hour to get there on regular streets during the evening rush. Even more so now that Western ave is screwed up between Fullerton and Addison. I enjoy gaming but I just can't do my normal 30 minute commute and then drive another 60 to the Dojo. Never gonna happen.

There's an opportunity for an ambitious person to open a store in the Logan Square area. It's close to Wicker Park without being subject to the high rents there. There are ample store fronts open on Milwaukee between Central Park and Kedzie as well as on Fullerton between Kedzie and Pulaski. I think a store anywhere in that corridor could do well, eventually, if the owners were willing to put the hard work in it and live on ramen for awhile...

Dice Dojo also opened a Southside Location in the South Loop. Don't know if it's still around.

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with the FAR south side. You could always think about Orland Park or Homewood/Flossmor. It is devoid of any gaming stores except for the WORST game/comic store of all time, The Zone. God, I hope they closed. They certainly deserve it.

Long story short, not ALL of the Southside of Chicago is "Ghetto".There are some real nice areas down there like I just mentioned. The Northside has Games Plus and Dice Dojo. Cat and Mouse Games also has two locations in the West and West Loop areas now. Little Italy has First Aid Comics and Games (Plug for my guy, Tom!)

I live in LA now, but have only been gone a about a year. But I scoured the land for good Game Stores in Chicago. Games Plus is the best by far, but Dice Dojo is the best Chicago City location/s. I also saw 3 games stores fail in Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Woodfield. Oh, and a GW failed in Skokie.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Side Note, ALL Game store in Los Angeles are terrible...However, there are only a million other things to do outside...all year...in nice weather. And yes, even less shootings

I would have to 100% disagree, I think Games Plus is awful. Every time I go there I have an issue, not to mention there prices are sky high. The last time I wentt here I almost had a perfect experience, I was about to walk out the and cashier had said he accidentally under charged me... so he rang me back up.. and charged $1 to my CC. 5 out of 5 times I have been there have been bad experiences, I pretty much gave up on the place.

I wouldn't consider this North side of Chicago either. Its in Mount Prospect, I live on the NW tip of Chicago and it takes me 45 mins to get there.