Business focus: This place ‘The Spot’ for gamers
DALTON GARDENS – In the corner, opposing creature and humanoid armies prepared to fight on a miniaturized war-torn battlefield. Meanwhile, several feet away in an adjacent area illuminated only by computer screens, lounging players skirmished in digitized modern combat against online rivals, while a handful of front-room patrons clustered around tables ahead of a supernatural-based card tournament.
These matchups are daily occurrences at the new gaming shop The Spot, in the Silver Lake Square near the corner of Canfield Avenue and Government Way, where game players of every ilk are welcome to take part in a variety of turn-based card competitions, video-game matches, or just to socialize with like-minded individuals. And watching over all the action are owners, childhood friends, entrepreneurs and self-proclaimed computer and card geeks Brandon Jank and Steve Otten, both 24.
“We’d always talked about starting a game shop,” said Jank, while standing at shop’s glass display counter and snack bar while alternative rock played in the background. “It’s always been a hobby of ours, and we’ve brainstormed on it over the years.”
But even though the long-time friends’ shop bustled with activity this weekday afternoon, it’s been a bittersweet opening for most of the gathered gamers. In the area’s tight-knit group of card players and figurine collectors, many had logged countless hours in the “War Den” of the former Gamer’s Haven shop, which was razed earlier this year in a fire. In addition to the physical loss taken by the inferno, countless intangibles were lost, too.
Consequently, for Otten, Jank and an entire segment in the community, a shop that carried on the spirit of the Haven was not only in demand, but a necessity for the legions of gaming fans. The Spot even incorporated Gamer’s Haven’s online forum site as a way to preserve the many memories, as well as inform the wide-spread community.
“So there was a huge calling. Even while we were opening, basically people were beating the doors down,” recalled Jank, who also owns the nearby businesses Nexgen Consulting, a custom computer-based company, and Postal Plus. Perhaps more important, he added, “there’s no place for the youth to go, the younger adults who are tired of the bar scene and want a more stimulating experience.”
Otten added, “There are no other options.”
With the combined experience of their business degrees and individual startups, the friends decided to turn their talked-about business enterprise into reality. As soon as the nearby unit opened up, they were able to provide the funding and transform the shop into a four-room gamer’s sanctuary.
The Spot features eight high-end PCs built by the Nexgen team that can manhandle the most taxing video games; the three next-generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony; collectible card games including Magic: The Gathering sets; and Warhammer 40,000 miniature metal and plastic figurines. Gamers can either opt for a monthly membership fee, or a per-hour video-gaming session of $2.50, whether on PC or playing a console on the giant projector screen. To keep gamers fueled into the evening hours, the shop offers 100 percent-organic Nectar of Life coffee and snacks, and weekly card tournaments offer prize packages.
The Spot’s assorted games and laid-back atmosphere provide more than friendly competitions and casual Internet surfing, it’s a social outlet for generations of people, the owners said. “It’s a community thing,” Jank offered. “If you look at today’s society,” he added, about the growing numbers of online games and card tournaments, “computer games and card games fill that niche.”
But the shop hopes to add much more to the mix than any other gaming-based business. Through Otten’s production company, The Spot will host monthly music shows, including hip-hop and techno, as well as showcase local artists’ works. “We didn’t want to be just one kind of business,” Otten said. “Our philosophy is to give people a comfortable place to expand their hobbies and interests.”
Nick Page is one example of a young adult who used to prefer the Gamer’s Haven shop’s environment prior to the fire. Once he heard about The Spot, he said, it immediately became his new favorite hangout when he first stepped inside.
“For me there’s a need for it,” he said. “I love this place, it’s great. I’ve been waiting for a place with an Ethernet connection … It’s clean, it’s got a great atmosphere; it’s a nice place to go meet and really relate with other people.”
As for building a business as young adults, the owners said that the venture has been a labor of love.
“That’s what you have to do is put your blood and sweat into it,” Jank said. “It feels great. There are a lot of risks and a lot of stress, there isn’t a day that goes by when you’re not thinking about it. It’s like having a kid, a really big, obnoxious kid.”