Game Stores In Florida: Treasure Coast Magic

Treasure Coast Magic is one of the game stores in Florida for fans of tradeable card games to visit. Specifically located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, it’s the only game store in town, according to Wizards’ Store & Event Locator. Originally customers at the store’s first location, Don and Jen purchased the store from the original owner in 2018. They stayed at the previous location for two years prior to moving and aspire to move to a larger space. However, they plan to remain in Port St. Lucie where their loyal customers remain.

Don and Jen employ two full-timers. Don handles product orders and oversees events for Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. Jen handles the events for the satellite games from brands such as Bandai and Lorcana. Both have made it a priority to create a casual play environment at the store. The previous owner focused on competitive play, which was not the atmosphere Don and Jen were looking to cultivate. This upset some customers, but their vision was to create a place that they themselves would like to play at.

Store Attendance For Events

Attendance for the One Piece card game has been huge, Don notes. However, Yu-Gi-Oh has contributed to the highest attendance overall. Albeit, he’s seeing One Piece gain ground. Unfortunately, for Magic: The Gathering, Don and Jen have seen a decline in attendance. For example, Friday Night Magic – since COVID – every now and then, an event will not fire. Don believes Magic players are suffering from wallet fatigue. This is in reference to the high amount of product Wizards of the Coast is releasing. These days a lot of their Magic: The Gathering business comes from those who play the Commander format.

Another pain point with hosting Magic: The Gathering tournaments is the varying set of requirements expected, Jen says. Additionally, she notes that the previous PPTQ system made it easier to understand expectations. Albeit, the pair found it worthwhile to bring back Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh after acquiring the store. Don shares that he was thankful that they took the time to look into other games. He adds that diversifying their offerings kept the business going.

Word of mouth is a major asset in attracting new players for the duo. Don and Jen recognized familiarity would make their customers feel comfortable. After moving, they designed the layout of the new store to be nearly identical to the first.

“Word of mouth, since we opened, has been our single greatest form of advertising.”

Don, Co-Owner of Treasure Coast Magic

Distinguishing Themselves From Other Stores

With various game stores in Florida, Treasure Coast Magic puts an emphasis on fun. They provide players with prize support if they stay for the entire event (i.e. packs for Magic: The Gathering pre-releases). This emphasis on casual play and running their tournaments in this manner has been very successful, Don says. Players had communicated to Don and Jen that they found the competitive scene intimidating with the previous owner.

From lots of tables to running multiple events at once, Treasure Coast Magic fosters a positive gaming environment. They even offer no table fee to casually play when no major events are taking place. From a personal standpoint, Don and Jen enjoy playing Magic drafts. Don also likes dabbling in the Pauper Magic format. In fact, to grow this sector, they offer premade decks that customers can borrow. If the format is right for them, the customer can buy the deck, sleeves, and cards right then and there. Additionally, having multiple owners has its perks. It’s enabled both Don and Jen to get in their fair share of gaming with their customers.

Sporting a fun gaming environment, Treasure Coast Magic is one of the game stores in Florida earning high praise:

“My son is 9. And he’s mildly autistic but autistic enough to notice. He loves Disney. All things Disney. Especially Mickey. When the Disney [L]orcana game appeared on our radar we had no idea about it. I’ve never been a card gamer but we love Disney. We visited the store recently just to ask questions. Don and Jen stopped what they were doing and literally spent all the time we needed on our questions and were very kind to my son. We found a box of this very hard to get game at another store because Magic wasn’t going to have enough. The day of the premier this other store sold the box promised to me. I went into TCMagic [Treasure Coast Magic] just looking for whatever I could get so my son wasn’t disappointed. And Jenn said hey didn’t you come in [with] your son? And I was like yeah. She pulled me aside and told me she had a box for us. Tristan and I stopped by today to pick it up. Jen[,] Don[, and] Cory all were super nice to us and Jenn went out of her way to make my son feel welcome and comfortable. This is our store now!! Amazing store. Amazing people. And side note, when I was my sons age this store was a few miles north and I would visit it often. They are kind and mostly they are amazingly fair and ethical.”

Kevin Berry, Treasure Coast Magic Customer

A Unique Concept And Looking To The Future

A unique aspect of the store is located at the storefront; to the left of the cash register upon entering. It’s a display case with angled shelves of desirable Magic: The Gathering cards. The angled shelves provide easy visibility for the customer to peruse and see what’s available. Originally, Don had thought this venture would be a waste of money. However, it turned out to be one of the flagships of the store.

Currently, Treasure Coast Magic only conducts sales in Port St. Lucie, even though they have an online presence. Don and Jon want to focus their product offerings and availability on those they serve in the area. Although not opposed to revisiting online sales outside Florida, their main focus is their local community. They even have plans to change the store name to more accurately reflect their business. Additionally, Jen will continue to bring in more female players to the store and to the hobby. 

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