KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - If there’s a game you love and it can fit on a table, then you will be able to play it at The Dented Mug, a ’luxury tabletop gaming tavern” scheduled to open on Sevier Avenue in January.
The new South Knoxville business, located across the street from Alliance Brewing Company, will also be a game store with a focus on miniature wargames. That’s not to say popular board games and card games, such as Exploding Kittens and Cards Against Humanity, won’t be available.
But co-owner Dallas Fitzgerald said he’s willing to bet that anyone interested in casual games could also find a game they enjoy that uses miniatures - figurine playing pieces hand-painted by the players themselves.
“All tabletop games are storytelling games,” he said. “Humans, since the dawn of human society, have been group storytellers. … Put the roles aside, put the miniature painting aside, put everything aside - it’s about coming together as a community and creating something together. And that appeals to everybody.”
Fitzgerald made sure to mention miniatures because he is extremely passionate about painting them. But the pieces also will be a big part of his business model.
He and his business partner, Ryan Roman, will sell miniature paints and unpainted pieces to apply them to, in addition to the games the pieces are used for.
The painting can be done in the store before purchasing a game or grabbing one off a shelf to play, which is always free.
“There’s something to be said about playing a game where every single piece on that board you’re personally invested in,” Fitzgerald said.
And personal investment is what made The Dented Mug a possibility.
“I’ve wanted to open a hobby shop since I was in middle school,” Fitzgerald said. “It was always my kind of, ’I want to be an astronaut.’ It was that thing that was never ever going to happen.”
Fitzgerald dropped out of college at 19 and worked a bunch of different jobs he never really cared for.
At the same time, Roman had a large amount of savings for a future family and house but was tired of having nothing to show for it, Fitzgerald said.
So Fitzgerald pitched him the idea: “a luxury hobby shop and local game store” that’s miles above the “musty comic-book (store) stereotype.”
“My idea was, basically, give people a place to play where I would want to play,” he said.
The Dented Mug building is being renovated with a glass storefront to coincide with Alliance across the street.
When that’s complete, folks walking by should be able to see what’s going on inside: people roiling dice and drinking beer at tables handcrafted by a carpenter who cut down trees on his own property just to make them, Fitzgerald said.
There will be some smaller tables for your smaller games and two larger, standing-height tables for wargaming.
These tables will have beer holders and drawers for players to store game equipment.
These will be the “centerpieces,” Fitzgerald said, but the glass display cases of pre-painted miniatures will supply the “wow factor.”
Fitzgerald said he’s considering Edison bulbs, gold-painted walls and maybe hardwood floors. There’s a lot that can be done with the 1,200 square feet space, he said.
Unlike many hobby shops, space won’t be taken up by video games or DVDs.
“I have never been in a position where I’m playing (Dungeons and Dragons) at a hobby shop and am like, ’Well, I’m going to buy a Rick and Morty body pillow and two copies of Spider-man for the PS2 now,” Fitzgerald said.
The Dented Mug will be a more “curated” experience, he said.
“Another thing I don’t like about most hobby shops is you walk in and it’s decorated like a hobby fan’s college dorm room,” he said. “And I don’t want to go for that aesthetic. You can very easily create a classy environment that is still nerdy.”
In addition to offering games to play, paint and purchase, The Dented Mug will also host prize tournaments and classes.
Fitzgerald said he is always willing to help someone understand how to paint or play a game, but the classes will give detailed, step-by-step instruction from start to finish.
The Dented Mug could also be selling some of its own merchandise, including “atmospheric candles” with scents to match characters and scenes in roleplaying games.
Fitzgerald has already made a paladin candle that smells like frankincense and myrrh. Another idea is a warrior candle that smells like sandalwood and leather.
The other moneymaker will be the packaged snacks, bottled beer and other bottled beverages for sale.
“If the beer proves to be a big enough part of the model that it’s worth it, we’ll invest in taps and an active bartender,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said tabletop gaming is growing in popularity, transitioning from something viewed as child’s play to something adults can enjoy.
“In Knoxville, there is a huge community,” he said. “The complaint you hear in that huge community over and over again is there are places to play, but there is nowhere where there is a community to play.”
Some stores have fold-out tables and chairs but nothing that feels homey. The environment that The Dented Mug provides will be key to drawing hardcore tabletop gamers and new hobbyists alike.
“There are plenty of places in Knoxville that you can go if you want an exclusive environment that only caters to people who are super invested in these games and not interested in sharing that investment,” Fitzgerald said.
But anyone should be able to walk into The Dented Mug, feel welcomed and find a game they will enjoy, he said.
Tentative hours are from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and then 5 p.m. until midnight. The store will be family-friendly until 8 p.m.
Keep up with the business by visiting facebook.com/thedentedmug.
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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
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