Dragon’s Hoard: An Official Year In Business

Game Stores in North Carolina: Dragon's Hoard
Dragon’s Hoard is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo credit: Sherri McDonald

Celebrating its 1st anniversary as a game store, Dragon’s Hoard originally started as a hobby shop / collectible store. According to the Wizards of the Coast Store & Events Locator, Dragon’s Hoard is 1 of 4 stores in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Dragon’s Hoard launched on February 11th, 2023. According to Sherri, the business took off when Sherri’s husband recommended they carry Magic: The Gathering. Upon doing so, the direction of the business changed. The store would officially become a game store from that moment forward. Moreover, Sherri’s business partner, Zack, had always wanted to open a board game cafe, but the opportunity never came about. For Zack, to partner with Sherri would achieve a goal in owning a game store.

Both Sherri and Zack have full-time jobs outside of the game store. Sherri works in the corporate world and Zack is a commercial real estate broker. Furthermore, Zack was the property manager of the space where Dragon’s Hoard resides. During that time, he was looking for someone to take over the lease. Zack’s main focus with the store involves managing inventory and social media marketing.

From Hobby Store To Game Store

Before the game store transitioned to what it is now, Sherri shares that Dragon’s Hoard would host various vendors and allow them to sell their products spanning various interests. The variety of products shaped the initial concept of how the Dragon’s Hoard name came to be. Moreover, Sherri aims to highlight said vendors through various means – like raffles – as part of the store’s 1st-anniversary celebration.

The pair currently have two employees: Justin and Steven – the latter of whom ran the store 6 days a week in its infancy. With some help provided by Justin, Sherri makes sure Steven has two days a week off. Sherri and Zack note that Steven fosters the community of gamers at the store. With the help of Justin, the duo schedules the store’s events with the help of community members who volunteered their time. With 3,500 sq. ft. of space, Sherri and Zack can hold multiple events simultaneously. They share that both Lorcana and Warhammer 40,000 are very popular at the store; in addition to Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. As of January 2023, Zack feels that was the month when the store started to hit its stride with 20-30 players attending their tournaments.

Getting Their Name Out There & Early Challenges

One of the things Sherri liked doing in the early years to get the store’s name out included attending conventions. Even if they don’t make money, Sherri believes in the motto, “Be everywhere.” Attending the conventions was a great networking opportunity to invite vendors to sell in her store, she shares. However, Zack says there’s little monetary payoff in the early stages of running a game store. Furthermore, he said it was surprising to learn the number of expenses involved in the venture.

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Early on, getting everyone on the same page as it pertained to roles and contributions was a challenge, Sherri says. On Zack’s end, he expressed difficulty in knowing how much product to buy that would sell. Initially, they didn’t purchase enough products, he says. However, as it relates to Magic: The Gathering they increased their buying power. Zack notes that some games can be difficult to determine how much to order.

With several stores available to players in Greensboro, Dragon’s Hoard, separates itself from the pack by offering free drinks and snacks to get people in the door. Sherri notes that this has worked out so well that customers have brought drinks for everyone. Their customers are paying it forward. Items such as coffee and water are freely available to players – on top of a free place to hang out. What’s more, there is a movie-watching and reading area available. Here’s Sherri’s take on the matter:

Entering The Next Chapter For Dragon’s Hoard

As the two business partners continue seeking ways to promote the store, they have plans to set up a booth at a local college for an Anime convention. Sherri and Zack are hopeful that participation in the event can bring traffic to their store. Zack promotes all their events on Facebook and various groups that align with the customer base they’re looking to attract. One of those events that they look to participate in is the North Carolina Underground Toy Swap. However, outside of attending events, Zack shares that Steven would like to create an inter-store championship amongst the other stores in Greensboro for some friendly competition.

With their eyes set on year two of the business, Sherri and Zack hope to alleviate some of the work for Justin and Steven. They hope to bring on more employees and have a long-term goal to open a second store. Ideally, they both envision Dragon’s Hoard as their full-time gig in 5-10 years.

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