Guild House Games: A Game for Everyone

About three years ago, Danny Perez got an idea.

He was the manager of Radio Shack in Durango, and the company had recently filed for bankruptcy. Danny’s wife had mentioned that Durango needed a game store, so he started looking into it. He soon realized that this could be a viable new career path.

Danny’s first stop was the SBDC. They guided him through the business plan and loan application process, and in May of 2017, Guild House Games was born.

Guild House Games currently resides inside the historic Main Mall, and the business specializes in board games, collectible card games, collectible minis, miniatures, paints, puzzles, puzzle games, Ugears, and Legos. They really do have a game for everyone!

The game shop has a very diverse client base. They pride themselves in carrying products for everyone, from heavy gamers to those just looking for something to do on family night. They also have games for every genre including classic, mystery, adventure, RPG, miniature, and strategy games.

Before launching Guild House Games, Danny spent countless hours researching other game stores. “When I looked into why these types of stores fail, I found that many of them lacked diversity in their product mix and become stale. That meant that when the main product experienced a down period, they couldn’t recover.”

To counter this trend, Danny committed to creating an ever-evolving business model. Last year, they focused heavily on building their selection of children’s games. Now they have a good selection of games for kids ages three and up. This year, they added to their Ugears collection, bringing in more than 80% of that product line. They also added Lego to their product list.

The store is still in its infancy and has navigated an array of challenging situations over the past few years, from its first autumn to drought to fire to the pandemic. Through it all, Danny has worked hard to build a resilient business. He says, “We continue to look at the big and small stores to see what they are doing and get ideas on what we can do better.”

The store is currently experiencing a great highlight. They expanded their retail store into what was their large game room. This has provided positive responses and reactions from their customers! They have even started looking for larger locations to accommodate their new vision. In addition, they are currently working on a web store, so they can put their entire inventory at their customer’s fingertips for curbside and delivery.

Danny is quick to note that his new team members are another highlight. Kate has been with the company for more than a year and is thriving in the environment they have created together. Aidan has been with the company for almost a year, and his knowledge has been a big part of taking the business to new heights. Danny encourages other business owners, “Don’t be afraid to train your people to be you.”

One of the biggest challenges presented by the pandemic has been the cancellation of nightly events. Although the nightly events resumed in June, they were again canceled in November. Please follow Guild House Games on Facebook to get the most recent updates.

Through it all, Danny and the Guild House Games team are grateful for the steady support from SBDC. “Our local SBDC is always available when we have a question and need something explained to us. A great example is that I was able to stop by and ask Mary about the current loans, so I could determine if we needed to apply.”

Danny enjoys retail and gives this bit of advice: “Retail is a difficult business to be in. Margins are always shrinking, making it difficult to stay profitable. Have a plan and don’t be afraid to stick to it. Look ahead and be proactive when dealing with upcoming challenges. Do not be afraid of change, it is a constant in retail and the gaming industry. You have to be able to move with change and adapt.”

Sticks and Stones

While Tim and Micki Hassemer waited for the perfect retail location on Main Ave. to become available, they were lucky enough to secure retail space at the entrance to Four Leaves Winery. During the one-and-a-half years they occupied that space, they met with former SBDC Executive Director, Joe Keck numerous times. The couple moved here from Los Angeles and Tim chuckles, “It’s a little different here. We had to learn the rules and requirements for

Read More »
The Repair Doctor

Fabian Rajo is good at fixing electronics. From transistor radios to computers, he knows his stuff. Last year, while working for a local computer company, he got an idea: he wanted to open a small electronics repair business in Cortez. He realized that many people need their gadgets repaired . . . from cell phones to tablets to apple watches to game consoles . . . and he knew that he had the skills to do it. But, he didn’t have

Read More »
Turquoise Raven Gallery: An Unkindness among the Artists

Paintings. Collages. Mosaics. Photography. Glasswork. Drawings. Walking Sticks. Books. Jewelry. Leatherwork. Pottery. These are all things that ignite Mary Fuller’s passion for art. For years, she’s had a vision of bringing artists from the Four Corners together into dedicated fine art gallery. In 2020, after various careers in both the education and nonprofit sector, she decided that it was time to make her dream a reality. Being a former teacher, Mary understood the value of

Read More »
Impact Fenders: Bracing for Impact

There’s nothing better than spending a day water skiing on the lake. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to fasten cylindrical fenders to the side of your boat before arriving back at the dock. As California natives, Brian Slaughter and Courtney Gates love boats. One day in 2017, they had just finished water skiing and were trying to attach their boat fenders when Brian had an epiphany: why hasn’t anyone created an easier system? As

Read More »
Nifty Nanny

Vivienne Yeagy always envisions bigger. Vivienne was home schooled by her mother Susan, along with her four sisters. Her childhood dream has been to have her very own school, incorporating year round education and child care. This stemmed from her early education in a one room school house with a red door in the family’s yard. Susan worked hard while she incorporated multifaceted ways for the children to learn. Instead of rote memorization and writing until

Read More »
Chimayo

Michael Lutfy and his wife, Biergitte, did research for years before they purchased, renovated and opened the Chimayo Restaurant on Main Avenue in Durango. Michael started working in his Uncle’s restaurant when he was 12 years old. He worked his way through college as a chef, and then worked as an Executive Chef for a large restaurant in downtown Los Angeles for many years. Desiring to change careers and become a writer, and then an

Read More »
Skip to content