I am sad to say, that the gaming community lost a long time favorite friendly local game store this year. The Whiz, of Westborough, closed up shop in March. I am sitting in the storefront now, and you can feel the communities love of their second home here.
Queen’s Gambit had been in contact to discuss options between us and The Whiz. Frank discussions were had, and unfortunately, the timing and the logistics for many options did not work out. Fast forward a couple of months and we were approached by the Bankruptcy Trustee for the Whizco, Inc., and we placed a bid for their inventory, furnishings and fixtures.
We’ve been quiet about the details, to maintain the arms-length requirements of the bankruptcy proceedings, but also to let the Whizco handle their community communications as they wished.
Now that the sale has been completed, we are comfortable discussing the details. Queen’s Gambit now has a jump start on inventory to supplement our initial line up for our new store. The glass displays, cash wrap, computers and furnishings are also a real boon for us in getting the essentials in place for our opening in a couple months.
We’ve been in contact with members of the Whiz community. Russ is friends with Adam Scaramella who helped organize the Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer’s League events at the Whiz. Dave and Carrie know Josh Bryant, the former owner, from their years in The Realms Live Action Role Playing community.
Patrick Nelson, who helped support and organize the wargaming community at The Whiz has reached out, and we are working with him to help re-home some of the material here at the Whiz that community members hold dear. In particular, the ceiling tiles.
While it is highly unlikely that we’ll be regular hosts to members of the Whiz community at Queen’s Gambit events – Haverhill to Westborough is a mighty long commute. We are hoping to host regular tournaments and other special events where they are welcome to join and help create more lasting memories.
