Updates on Gopher V3.0...

Okay... It's been a bit so I thought I'd give folks some updates on how things are looking in the new space. I will throw out the caveat that I cannot find the charger, so I've been taking pictures with my phone and hating every minute of it.

I *HAVE* been trying to get back to the uniform. This is what I wore yesterday.

The front of the new location in day light.

The Gophers are back on the front door in their rightful places...

A shot of the store from the front as you walk in...

A shot of new expansive play space. GAWDS, it's an undecorated white box... =P

A shot of the playspace from the back of the room...

Our playspace in use with Malifaux, Pathfinder, and Only War...

What I wore today...

In general, things are moving along. There are still snags here and there, and things have to be picked up in places, but it's all coming together slowly. It will all come together in time, but we're pretty proud of where we're at for only having been in the space seventeen days.

Now, if we can only get the back room in order then we'll be ahead of the curve...

-- GopherDave

Been Busy...

Yep...

Been gone for a few days, I know, and I will probably be gone for a few more.

The move is mostly complete and we are open for business. There are some nagging details to take care of to make things more final (chief among them, cleaning up the "old" space).

As it goes, as the store grows, I find myself moving away from regular counter duties and into of more of a managerial role. I'm not entirely certain I am enjoying where that particular road is headed. One of the biggest thrills for me in this business is connecting people with a game I know that they will enjoy and get a kick out of, or a Magic the Gathering card that they've been searching for forever. With my store role shifting, I am noticing how much I miss that aspect of what we do here at Armored Gopher Games.

Overall, though, things are different, and I am slowly getting used to them.

I will post some pictures of the new place when things get more put together later on this month, but I will leave you with this...

 
It's blurry, but it's a picture of our new sign for the lightbox at the new spot... We like it...  =)

-- GopherDave

T-Minus 11 Days...

Today was a receiving day here at the store, and combined, the two orders ended up being a *TON* of stuff...

Among the new items were the new edition of Pandemic (*finally*), the new Data Pack for the Netrunner LCG, and a deluxe version of Unexploded Cow. All of these are good things. Trust me.

For dinner tonight, I was feeling nostalgic, so I ventured over to Garcia's Pizza In A Pan. Now? Now, I am feeling nauseous. I would post a link to their web site, but they don't seem to have one.

Things are moving along as distributors send me what I need to get accounts moved over. I am currently filing things away until next week as I don't want them to ship anything to the new place until we are actually open.

Thursday, I begin looking at additional slatwall panels and other fixtures that will be needed. We also have to make certain we have enough capital set aside to gather together more tables and chairs.

Yay! More work...  =P

...But it will all be worth it in the end...

-- GopherDave

T-Minus 12 Days...

Things move slowly with the... uhhh, move.

There are a number of things we cannot do until after the actual move, including inspections for building occupancy limits and fire stuff.

There are some things I am trying to line up in terms of ducks and rows, like getting whatever requisite "change of address" forms from distributors. I do find it odd that while some places make it as simple as a phone call, others want you to "re-apply" for an account. That seems backward and is more than a touch frustrating. It is, however, the cost of doing business.

Today, I have busied myself at the store with placing orders and trying to sort a chunk of the MtG cards that have come in over the last week or so. Later on, I will be scanning some fixture sites to see if I can time the arrival of some slatwall panels to coincide with a time I will be prepping the new space and will have the help to unload the shipment when it shows up. Last time I paid for "driver assist" not knowing that all that means is they will move it from the front of the trailer to the back of the trailer. One then has to unload it from the trailer into the store one's own self. With my spine, that ain't happening anytime soon.

Not much is going on beyond that, but I do need to get back to work... ciao.

-- GopherDave

T-Minus 14 Days...

As of Monday, we have two weeks to get our stuff together and get the new place up and running. We think we can do it, though I will admit I didn't think things through entirely.

April Fools' Day as an opening day is not a joke, despite what some people thought. No... What I didn't think about was March 31st being Easter frickin' Sunday. Now, I will be the first to admit that I love God, but I *HATE* church. That fact combined with being quite focused on our business means that most religious-oriented holidays outside of Christmas fall *COMPLETELY* out of my notice zone.

Thus, while help is coming for the "hard move", it probably will not be as abundant as I first thought. That is entirely my bad. However, we will do what we can to make the original date a reality.

Not much else beyond that... Back to work...

-- GopherDave

Now The Real Fun Begins...

Okay... Tonight was the first Friday Night Magic in some time where we didn't actually *need* the extra space. That being said, it was still a good day...

This morning, I walked away from the landlord's office with a signed lease for the new space. It's done. It's happening. Now, things begin to move. For the last ten days or so, I've felt like a drag racer that has its rear wheels propped up about three inches off of the asphalt, but they're spinning full bore. Not going anywhere, but ready to hit the ground running...

We are now burning the proverbial rubber...

Monday, I will begin contacting distributors and filling out the paperwork for the address switchover. I will also need to get the business license updated. This weekend, I am hoping to get the business card template updated, a graphic for the light box at the new space done, a new door graphic put together, and two signs done for the door at our current space. One, detailing the upcoming move, and another pointing people to the new space after the move. The landlord said he is willing to leave the second sign in the windows of the soon-to-be-empty space until he rents it out. Little things like that are why we *REALLY* like our landlord and wanted to continue renting from him if we could at all help it.

Loquacious has already started on her end of things, contacting various utility companies and setting up those change-overs. My beautiful wife has also been in constant contact with the gentleman in charge of small business development for our city. Turns out he's also a gamer, and had no idea we were here for almost four years at our current address until he wandered into our store this past November. I found that weird because the city name-dropped us in a press release and an editorial when we first moved here back in February of 2009. Oh well... it happens.

Our fantastic employees (Skribl, High-Sign, BigBank, and Double-L) are already chiming in with suggestions and thoughts on how the flow of the new space could work.

We are also starting to wrangle help to make the physical things happen. That's where the bulk of the Gophers come in...

As a store, Armored Gopher Games is incredibly blessed to have a community such as we have. If we, as a store, need help putting up slatwall panels, packing up and moving to/from a convention, computer technical support, electrical work, minor maintenance, or even moving the entire store, the Gophers are there for us. It is their love of our community, and *THEIR* desire to see the store be successful that ultimately make it possible.

Loq and I? We're just the shepherds of an incredible flock of NOT-sheep...  =P

That's why the phrase "Gopher Mafia" fits us so well...

Mafia... La Cosa Nostra ("This Thing Of Ours")... La Familia... Family...

Willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done... =)

-- GopherDave

KA. BOOM.

One of the "good" (but stressful) bombs I've been dealing with over the last week...

http://armored-gopher.com/content/ka-boom

Now the real pressure begins...