Tabletop Gaming Store Opening on East Side

Site of Old Guard Games, 3132 N. Downer Ave. Photo courtesy of Old Guard Games.

Old Guard Games invites customers to step off of Downer Avenue and into another world.

The community-focused gaming store, 3132 N. Downer Ave., is filled with suits of armor, battle shields and paintings depicting famous historical battles.

The resulting space, said owner Ben Checota, is reminiscent of a Victorian library that might attract the likes of Sherlock Holmes. But instead of books, the shelves are stocked with hundreds of tabletop games.

The best part about entering another world? You can be whoever you’d like. That’s what Checota remembers most from his favorite childhood gaming store, Napoleon’s, and what he hopes to emulate at his own business.

“It was a place where people that might not fit in perfectly in all situations kind of found a sense of community through gaming,” he said of Napoleon’s, the store in Shorewood which closed its doors in 2005.

“It didn’t matter where you came from, it didn’t matter what your gender was, what your persuasion was, what your race, religion — whatever it was — everybody was connected by this thing.”

The former store, run by the red-bearded and charismatic Fritz Buchholtz, was known for attracting a diverse group of gamers, Checota said, including police officers, businessmen, construction workers, college professors and “everything in between.”

“It was a very eclectic and interesting group that you wouldn’t see mixing anywhere else,” he said. “That’s what’s nice about gaming — a 1980 southside Milwaukee policeman probably wouldn’t be accepting of someone with a blue mohawk, with the exception of the ones that were hanging out at the game store. Their love of the game was more important than any other differences.”

Checota said he aims to foster the same sense of inclusivity at Old Guard Games via a 3,000-square-foot gaming hall with 12 “massive” permanent tables dedicated to community gameplay. The space is expected to host scheduled tournaments, demonstrations and open play, allowing gamers to bring their own supplies and play inside the store.

In addition to cozy winter days spent around a gaming table, patrons can look forward to summertime on the patio, where they can partake in alfresco games of chess, checkers, backgammon and more.

The store also includes a retail section, which will strive to feature an extensive, “internet-sized” selection of games.

The 4,000-square-foot space will house a large selection of miniatures for games of all kinds including Warhammer, Star Wars and a host of historical wargames; Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplay games; various card games such as Magic The Gathering and Pokémon; a wide assortment of wargames paints and modeling supplies; dice, books and much more.

Checota also runs an online miniature retailer called Badger Games.

Old Guard Games is slated to open in the former Panther Bookstore, a building that has seen a host of changes since its original construction in the early 1900s.

At that time, the structure featured bricks from St. Louis, copper awnings and a number of intricate, carved stone features scattered across its exterior, Checota said.

In past years, however, the building has fallen into disrepair. When Checota began making plans to open Old Guard Games, he hired a team of masons to meticulously restore the brick, which had been damaged by paint and sandblasting.

The process took a year and “really became a labor of love,” Checota said, but has paid off in restoring the building’s original luster. “I was glad that I could be a part of bringing the building back to what it was, kind of revitalizing the part of the East Side that had been kind of blighted since the 70s.”

Grand Opening Weekend

Following a limited-time sneak preview, Old Guard Games is now preparing for a weekend-long grand opening celebration, scheduled for May 24, 25 and 26.

Attendees can expect a variety of open-play tournaments, live-action roleplay (LARPing), a medieval blacksmith demonstration and more throughout the three-day event.

The festivities are set to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 24 with a Magic the Gathering tournament. The following day, the store will host two all-day tournaments for Warhammer 40K and Bolt Action starting at noon.

Sunday’s agenda includes a Warhammer: Age of Sigmar tournament and a large youth chess tournament with participants from several local schools.

Old Guard Games will be open from noon until 10 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend will also feature various demonstration and participation games that are accessible for all.

Beyond the grand opening festivities, Old Guard Games plans to offer weekly events in hopes of reinvigorating the face-to-face gaming scene in Milwaukee.

For updates, hours and additional information, visit Old Guard Games on Facebook.

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