On a gray Wednesday afternoon in Asheville, few stores are busy, especially post Hurricane Helene. In a small store on the second floor of a shopping complex, Gamer’s Haunt owner Charla Schlueter nimbly assembles orders as a growing line forms, full of eager gamers all looking to buy Magic the Gathering cards.
Schlueter, the current owner of Gamer’s Haunt, specializes in the trading card game, Magic The Gathering and works around the clock to provide her customers with an amazing experience.
Magic The Gathering is a game consisting of multiple playing styles called formats, some of which focus on creating hundred-card decks with one central card known as a commander and using the deck to be the last player standing after rounds of combat. Other formats focus on creating decks made with the most common/inexpensive cards in a pack and creating a winning combination of 60 cards. With thousands of card combinations, the way a player can win is as unique as the cards themselves.
Schlueter said she got to know the old owner of Gamer’s Haunt and after he admitted he was burnt out, he sold the store to Schlueter.
“I got very lucky in that I bought a shop that already existed. He already had a very good inventory. I will brag and say that I have grown it astronomically. I’ve grown it 580% in six years so I’m really proud of that but I had a very very good basis for it,” Schlueter said.
As new customers filter into the store, Schlueter takes extra time to help them decide which cards to get. From price to rarity, Magic has a lot of variability, so Schlueter provides a sounding board for purchases.
While every part of the store has the players’ needs in mind, Schlueter attributes owning Gamer’s Haunt to fate.
“I got into playing Magic because of my husband. We used to play a lot of board games at night and they take up a lot of time where you have to sit down and learn it and set it up. He was like, ‘I used to play Magic as a kid. You might like it if you wanna try it,’ and so I joked around that I tried it and then bought a shop,” Schlueter said.
Growth in inventory led to Gamer’s Haunt being the go-to Magic Store for many Asheville locals. However, it’s more than the inventory bringing gamers in, Schlueter said.
“In this day and age, any products that you sell anywhere you can get cheaper online so you’ve gotta be a place that people want to come to and gather in and have an experience and not just have a product,” Schlueter said.
When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, Gamer’s Haunt closed down for six weeks and while the store was inoperable the costs continued to grow.
“COVID was the training wheels for this. COVID hit like a year after I bought into Gamer’s Haunt so I had to learn very quickly that you have to be able to pivot and change how you approach your business,” Schlueter said.
Schlueter said she attributes Gamer’s Haunt’s reopening to the community but it’s more than just business for her.
“I think putting out into the world, having a community base paid off ten-fold from it. People volunteered their time, people volunteered money, people, if nothing else, just came out and played and that was huge. I don’t think I realized how much I needed to see customers and be like, ‘OK you’re good, you’re good,’” Schlueter said.
Schlueter said she employs a wide variety of people from various backgrounds to help run her store including Astrid Tray, a full-time employee who has been working at the store for over six months.
“A huge part of why we were able to stay alive during the hurricane was because of the community here, and Charla always puts the community of the players that play here above basically everything,” Tray said.
Tray said from hosting events that don’t return a profit, to increasing space for gamers, Schlueter is focused on catering to a strong community.
Gamer’s Haunt owner welcomes more diverse and LGBTQ+ customers, Tray said.
“It’s a lot of different people. There’s like groups of college kids that come in. They’ll take a bus from Western Carolina every Wednesday to come play Pioneer. We obviously have kids come in and play, it’s really fun to see kids playing competitive Magic. You’ll see like a 7-year-old beat a 40-year-old guy, and you’re like, ‘Hell yeah,’” Tray said.
Tray said, Schlueter makes sure the space is safe for all people and will talk to or even ban players who are disrespectful or bully others.
As the line dies down, a new customer asks Schlueter for advice about purchasing cards as a gift for a friend. The customer brings well over $50 worth of products to the register. Schlueter asks the customer their budget and what kind of player their friend is. Instead of selling the unassuming customer well over $50 without batting an eye, Schlueter takes time out of her day to help her find the best deal. The customer walks away with a purchase not only their friend will love, but a better deal than anywhere else.
Allison Jenkins, owner of the local comic shop Comic Envy on Merrimon Avenue, knows the importance of helping customers find the right product, especially in a place like Asheville.
“What I need to get for the people of Asheville is what they are asking me for and it changes all the time because the people of Asheville change all the time,” Jenkins said.
The inventory of Comic Envy varies from big-time publishers like DC and Marvel to smaller independent publishers like Silver Sprocket.
“We don’t have to do gaming because the gaming community in this town is robust and supportive and amazing and they’ve always had our back and vice versa,” Jenkins said.
As business gets tougher, Jenkins said the importance of community and having a bond with customers as well as other stores is crucial to surviving.
“I’m so happy that Gamer’s Haunt is reopened. I’m so proud of them,” Jenkins said.
With the support of the community as well as local businesses, Gamer’s Haunt’s future is bright and new players are always welcome.
“I always try to tell people that if you’re getting into the game, find a deck that you like. If you’re into goblins or if you like elves, there’s not a best deck; there’s a deck you’re interested in. You will be way more likely to learn it if you like the content of it more and if you’re learning with friends, there’s a much higher rate of those people staying and growing with the game,” Schlueter said.
