2 April
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the closing of Ravenblood Games. Our doors will close for the last time on May 25th.
Several factors led me to this decision, the details of which I will not bore you all with. Essentially, Kelly and I have plans for the near future that will take us out of NY state, and renewing the lease simply doesn’t fit into those plans.
I have taken great pleasure in making Ravenblood Games a place for gamers that is clean and inviting to all. The business enjoyed significant sales growth every single year, which if I do say so myself, is a decent accomplishment considering the current state of the economy. I’d like to thank all my customers for making that possible.
I would also like to thank a few people specifically. These people, while not partners or employees, went the extra mile to help make Ravenblood Games a success:
Reeves Crowe. Making Ravenblood Games the home of Long Island Role Players was instrumental in building the success of the business. RetCon was also a great way to introduce new gamers to the store, and your personal efforts to drive business my way never went unnoticed. Despite the opinions of others, you are the only person I know who has done anything for the “Gaming Community” at large.
Paul Leone and Joe Biondi. D&D Encounters brought a lot of new faces into the store, and so many kept coming even after growing disenchanted with 4th edition. We were recognized as the premiere site for Encounters on the east coast, ran several seasons as the only Encounters site on Long Island, and I was personally congratulated by WotC staff for achieving Core store status solely based on Encounters participation.
Jonathan Varelakis. Organizing events for Magic: The Gathering was key in getting CCG sales up, and customers in. Your knowledge and assistance in that regard was indispensable.
Carl Kieninger and Kevin LaVelle. Without these guys sacrificing their time, I probably would have worked 1300+ days without any time off. I didn’t take a lot of personal time from the business, but when I did, they were the guys that made sure the wheels kept turning. “In Gaeta de absentia.”
Steve Mann, Joe Laferlita, Jim Guastivino, Nelson Ramos, Justin Burzenski, Beth Rimmels, John Bowie, Jim Jones, Vicky Jones, and everyone else who GMed and ran demo games at Ravenblood. Thanks for stepping up, you were certainly the minority who made the majority possible.
Kelly Gaeta. All the support and help I could ever ask for. Best wife ever!
After five years of running this store, I have heard a lot of commentary regarding the state of the retail gaming/hobby industry on Long Island. I’ve also received a ton of compliments and well-wishes from customers having sub-par experiences at other shops. Now, with all the “Ravenblood Regulars” needing a new place to haunt, I’d like to offer this advice. If you walk into a store, and find the condition or service unacceptable, don’t just leave. If a store is overcrowded, don’t just be thankful there wasn’t a fire. There is absolutely no reason for a gaming store to smell like an abandoned ass factory. There is no reason for staff to ignore you. There is no reason for store owners to risk the safety of patrons by overbooking their events, or packing the isles with excess merchandise. The only reason these things happen is because someone is negligent. But if you don’t say anything, no one will act to rectify it. Someone needs to know that you’re walking out because of the smell, or the hazards, or the staff. If the person you talk to doesn’t care, find someone who does. If no one cares, maybe just tell the rest of the world until someone does care. Just because you’re a gamer, you don’t have to settle.
On the other side of the coin, gamers have a responsibility too. You are not doing your venue any favors by running games with books you downloaded from Pirate Bay. You are not supporting your Friendly Local Gaming Store because you buy a bottle of water and a pack of M&Ms every two weeks. Stores that provide you with gaming space are not doing it for free. It’s called a “value-add”. It adds value to your purchases when they also provide a place to use them. Those chairs are there for customers who support the establishment. If you are happy to buy all your books on Amazon or eBay, you should seriously consider the fact that Amazon and eBay did not introduce you to other players, help you learn a new game, or provide you with a place to meet. Your FLGS does, and that is worth giving them your business. If you can’t see the logic in that, you don’t deserve to occupy a space at their gaming tables.
In closing, I am really happy to have had this opportunity to make new friends, as well as making it possible for others to forge new friendships. I hope those friendships continue on, and maybe once in a while, those friends will raise a glass and remember where they met.
When someone gives you the stink eye for going online for something when it is on the shelf, when someone says "pay where you play" and you roll your eyes, look at what happens. It's always a bummer when a game store closes and while we are almost always spared the logistical reasons why, we can read between the lines.
We are very fortunate to have BG. We don't have to settle, we have game stores that are nice, clean and welcoming.
Sometimes we forget what we have or take for granted what we have. Thanks Derek, Chase, Cale, Nick, Chad, Matt, Sam and community for helping keeping them running.
