What? You want more retail on the Hill? Well, local Hill resident and parent Kathleen Donahue is jumping into the fray.
Kathleen is opening Labyrinth Games & Puzzles at 645 Pennsylvania Avenue, the space formerly occupied by Remix. Moving past the ancient copy of Risk you have moldering away in your closet, Labyrinth will offer a wide array of specialty games, puzzles, mazes, etc; with many provided by small, US artisans or fair trade importers. Leases have been signed, Certificates of Occupancy issued, and refitting is in progress. Hopes are high that the store will be ready for Black Friday.
Kathleen feels she has a winner in selling a line of products that have a wide appeal. As she puts it, “Parents will be able to find fun and educational games and puzzles for their children as well as unique gifts for friends’ birthdays. Teenagers can “disconnect” for a
little while and spend time interacting with their friends and families. Young adults can rent or buy zany party games for game night get-togethers. Thoughtful individuals of all ages will be thrilled by the strategy and trivia games, puzzles and mazes. Tourists will love the DC-inspired game and puzzle souvenir options.”
As she moves forward, Kathleen hopes that Labyrinth can become more than just a retail outlet for specialty games and puzzles and focuses on the community building aspects of her store. While initial efforts are going to be dedicated to getting the store up and running in time for the Christmas season, Kathleen plans on hosting game nights and will offer a game library where you can check out games to play either there or take home for a small fee. All to further the idea of “doing something fun in the “real” world as opposed to the “virtual” world.” You know, like commenting on a blog…
This sounds great. I hope it works.
I think it’s a great idea to have another locally-owned small business on the Hill (especially another woman-owned small business)…that’s what makes a neighborhood. I’m excited that it’s going to have something for kids of all ages 🙂
Personally, I love giving games as gifts to my adult friends. It’ll be great to have another option for gift-buying that doesn’t require having to drive out to the burbs, but that I can shop in my own neighborhood.
remix closed?
i wish this store much success. but i’d rather see a Gap 🙂
As someone who owns and plays many games, I am thrilled to see this store coming to the Hill!
Awesome! I am a definite game geek, so the idea of having a game store in the neighborhood is awesome.
I have to wonder, though, how many niche stores we can support without having at least one or two ‘anchor’ stores in the area. I still think it would be of benefit to everyone if we could get one or two big-name chains to draw people to the area – the aforementioned Gap, a Banana Republic, or maybe a Barnes & Noble – something along those lines.
A “fair trade puzzle store”? place your bets on how long until this closes and turns into a Sbarro…
I love, love, love this idea. A locally owned and community focused small business? Awesome!
To those seeking a big anchor store: perhaps you didn’t get the memo that the past two years have essentially put big-box retail stores in the toilet? Barnes & Noble is looking for a private equity buyout, the GAP stores are rapidly diminishing in fashion relevance as they fiddle around with their logos while Rome burns, and there are already plenty of eateries and restaurants in the area.
I’m really excited about this idea– it sounds like it might be like The Family Room but for older kids, grown-ups?