It might come as a surprise to some that Daniel Perez, the owner of Guild House Games, does not consider himself a gamer.
Perez, 47, was encouraged by his longtime girlfriend to open a gaming store while he was working as a retail manager at RadioShack.
Guild House Games had a soft opening May 13 in the Main Mall downtown. Perez has an official opening scheduled for June 1-3, with events and discounts planned all weekend.
Trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon are big draws for customers, Perez said. But he also sells an assortment of tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder, as well as board games.
As of 2015, over 20 million people played Magic: The Gathering and new cards are released on a regular basis through expansion packs. Perez acknowledges the popularity of the game but aims for balance in his store.
“Successful stores don’t just cater to Magic: The Gathering. Yes, it is profitable, but we want to save room for other games,” he said.
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Perez’s career at RadioShack spanned two decades.
“I moved up to Durango about 10 years ago and worked at the RadioShack here. Truthfully, I took a pay cut when RadioShack filed for bankruptcy and Standard General took over. They made a lot of promises they couldn’t keep,” he said.
Perez said he remained at RadioShack but quietly planned Guild House Games for about six years before taking an early retirement last August. He watched the rise and fall of Game Space and Durango Toy Depot, two stores that offered game nights, but it was no deterrent.
“I just felt that my opportunity would come. I had enough of RadioShack so I left and took my retirement. This is where I put it, so it’s time to have fun,” he said.
Using his background in retail, Perez researched both large and small gaming stores around the county to avoid making the same mistakes as others.
“I looked at places like Black Diamond Games in Concord, California. I realized that Durango never had what other places did. The owner of Game Space was incredibly knowledgeable ... but it was more of a hangout than a retail store,” he said.
Perez said he closely modeled Guild House Games after Black Diamond Games because it is primarily a retail store “with a nice game room.”
“The owner of Black Diamond Games found that balance between game room and retail. I wanted to give people in Durango a taste of what those in California had,” he said.
It is important to Perez for Guild House Games to have a welcoming environment for both new and experienced gamers, which stores often lack, he said.
“The programs that I want to put in place are designed specifically to create a strong sense of community. So if someone comes in and wants to do an event that requires eight people but they only have four, we should be able to text or call others to get them involved,” he said.
Perez intends to eventually get into gaming himself and has a full calendar of events planned on the store’s website.
In celebration of the store’s official opening, a 10 percent discount will be offered on select items Thursday and Friday. Perez encourages customers to dress in costumes on Saturday for an additional five percent off discounted items. Saturday evening, Guild House Games will host a Magic: The Gathering tournament. It costs $40 to enter the game and extra prizes will be available, along with food and drinks.
Perez is hopeful for the future of Guild House Games and is impressed with the store’s accomplishments.
“In the first eight days, we beat the first month projection we had for our business plan. Now we just want to see where we can go from here,” he said.
mrupani@durangoherald.com
