Nearly every evening of the week, the tables at Versus Games, on Taraval Street between 27th and 28th Avenues, are abuzz with young people dealing out Magic: The Gathering cards or playing board games. As both a retail store and a gathering spot for gamers, Versus, which has been in the Outer Sunset for a little over three years, has become a draw for people from the neighborhood and beyond.
According to owner D. Velosz (who goes by his first initial), the store began when he unexpectedly found himself with a lot of free time to think about what he wanted to do next.
“I lost my corporate job,” he explains. “I was with See’s Candies as a district manager when the recession hit, and I lost my position to someone who was there a lot longer.”
As he tried to figure out his next move, Velosz found himself at a local game store, playing Magic like he used to as a child with his older brother. He began to develop a plan for a game store that could do more with marketing, branding, sales and promotions, turning a business that often serves as a clubhouse for the owner and his or her friends into a bigger draw.
Velosz did his research, traveling the country and interviewing all types of game stores—even the failing ones—to learn what did and didn’t work. Drawing on his corporate background, he eventually created a 60-page business plan with 10-year projections.
Three years in, Versus has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The store regularly holds Magic: the Gathering events and tournaments that draw lines around the block. To help with the crowds, neighboring businesses Rolling Out Cafe and Eagle Pizzeria often share their spaces with the store when it gets particularly crowded.
The crowd of mostly young, mostly male Magic players are also drawn to Versus because of the cards that Velosz and his team offer. Players often need more cards and booster packs, and Versus also has a “buy list” that lists cards that the store is purchasing. Players can sell their unneeded cards to the store, and in turn, Versus sells them to other players who want to add them to their decks.
Many of the shop's regular players have come to know each other. Mark Katz, a paraprofessional at Sunset Elementary, says Magic: The Gathering has given him something to talk about with the kids he works with during the after-school program, and helped him connect to his colleagues.
"I was new to the city," says Katz, who moved to San Francisco from Wisconsin. "I didn't even start talking to one of my co-workers until I saw him here [at Versus]."
In the future, Velosz hopes to offer board game events and tournaments in conjunction with gaming conventions. He's also looking for a larger space, since the store has already outgrown its spot.
“We’re also looking desperately to expand,” he says. “That’s a problem, but a good problem to have. We’re literally busting at the seams, so I’m putting players in my neighbors’ businesses.”
