Tabletop Tavern Game Store In Chula Vista

Located between two middle schools and two high schools, Jimmy’s Tabletop Tavern store is one of two stores in Chula Vista, California, according to the Wizards of the Coast Store & Event Locator. He’s been a Magic: The Gathering fan since the early 90s. Moreover, co-ownning a store with his older brother has been a dream. Building a place for kids to visit and keep them off the streets was important to Jimmy. Additionally, he works with the judicial system to turn negative situations into positive ones.

The store has ~1,000 sq. ft. of play space and ~750 sq. ft. of retail space. He has the luxury of having three buildings – only two are in use. Jimmy says the third building will house Tabletop Tasty’s, serving burgers and fries. In its first iteration, they were making 40 burgers per day. However, a sewer pipe break put the operation on hold. After an 8-9 month process, it’s nearing relaunch.

Owners Reinvest Back Into Tabletop Tavern

Jimmy’s full-time job is as a public school teacher. He says that his career allows him to teach players new games. Running a game store is purely a labor of love. In addition to the game store, Jimmy also enjoys bowling and fishing.

Jimmy acquired the store’s building from a family member. It was once both a book store and a used video game store. He takes no money from the business and reinvests all revenue into it. The same is true of the other owners as they all have separate careers. Doing so allows for continued expansion. That reinvestment includes plans for corn hole and bonfire pit. Giving back to the community is of utmost importance to Jimmy. In addition to handling product shipments, Jimmy helps organize events with breweries in the area, hosting Dungeons & Dragons parties, and helping facilitate the growth of gaming overall.

“Owners are super chill and down to earth. I go here to enjoy the prereleases.”

Richard Torres, customer review on Tabletop Tavern Facebook page

Jimmy says a big boon for the store occurred when YouTuber Deep Pocket Monster visited the store.

This visit made a big impact on the Pokémon community. However, Jimmy says his store is one of the only places offering Beyblade in Southern California, providing an outlet to that sector of the community. Furthermore, the store is part of the World Beyblade Organization, an official designation where Jimmy is an official judge for Beyblade events. Moreover, the store is also a Bandai “Gold Store.” He also notes that his store does not engage in price gouging.

Relying On Others & Owning An Escape Room

A lesson learned from running the store: “You have to rely on other people,” Jimmy says. They include Jimmy’s brother and co-owner, Mike, who handles Magic: The Gathering. Thomas, a co-owner, John, the Retail Manager, and tournament organizers: “Stuffy,” Leah, and Anthony. The two most popular games at Tabletop Tavern are Magic: The Gathering and One Piece. However, Jimmy says it’s a toss-up for the “most” popular. The store ventured into streaming when a Final Fantasy event required tournament organizers to stream the event.

While the game store is a joy, one of his passions is escape rooms. He originally thought he would open one, particularly a mobile escape room, but the manual labor involved appeared daunting. Due to the work involved such as building the rooms, Tabletop Tavern was born. However, Jimmy has participated in over 100 escape rooms with his wife across multiple states. Even though he decided against building one himself due to circumstances, he was able to acquire ⁠Steal and Escape⁠.

As he looks towards the future, a second location in National City, California, is on the horizon.

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