Having secured the perfect space in town to expand their business, Super-Fly Comics and Games owners Tony Barry and Jared Whittaker must have rolled a “nat 20” — the best possible dice toss in Dungeons and Dragons.
Coincidentally for Super-Fly, that’s just about how long the local shop has been open — 20 years next August. To mark the auspicious occasion, Barry and Whittaker recently announced the forthcoming opening of “The Annex,” a new space in the village dedicated to tabletop gaming.
Located in the Millworks Business Park — specifically in the 2,500-square-foot suite last occupied by Tuck-N-Red’s Spirits and Wine, and neighbor to Yellow Springs Brewery — The Annex will be a sister location to Super-Fly’s Dayton Street storefront, which will continue its business as usual.
Once renovations are finished, The Annex will house a number of large gaming tables for live, in-person play of everything from Magic the Gathering, Monopoly and Mahjong, to Catan, chess and checkers — and every niche or popular game in between. Building off Super-Fly’s inventory at its main shop, The Annex also plans to sell cards, dice, comics and “a massively increased” board game selection.
The grand opening will be next August, around Super-Fly’s 20th anniversary festivities. Before then, a series of soft openings are planned, with one this month and another on Free Comic Book Day in May.
“This is a very slow roll-out,” Whittaker told the News last week. “We’re trying to ease into this space.”
“Piecemeal steps,” Barry added. “We’re taking our time because this space — it’s been a dream for a long time — solves our gaming space needs and our expanded stock needs. And, it meets the needs of what the community has asked for for a long time: a dedicated place to play games.”
Already, The Annex is starting to come together. Boxes of comics are stacked throughout the suite. Shelving islands with games and playing mats checker the roomy retail area. Several metal racks have trading card sleeves and containers, and R2-D2 stands near a corner where, not long ago, a vat of moonshine likely sat.
Jared Whittaker and Tony Barry are still assembling the new retail space, which adjoins a gaming area, dojo and music stage. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Owing to their frequent tabling at comic conventions, Barry and Whittaker are no strangers to maximizing and adjusting to new spaces, big or small. They’re both self-proclaimed Tetris experts.
Once this new puzzle is put together, the pair envisions The Annex less as a store and more of a “third space,” or a hub for hardcore and casual gamers alike to gather and commune with one another. Though the details are still being ironed out, Barry said tables could be reserved or rented for large parties to stage role-playing campaigns or tournaments.
“It’s tricky. We’re trying to wrap our heads around making this a freely available space for people, while still making sure it pays for itself,” Barry said. “I don’t know, maybe there could be a day pass. We’re still workshopping ideas.”
And those ideas go far afield from just tabletop gaming.
Also at The Annex will be a matted area for jiu-jitsu instruction, competitions and casual grappling — one of Barry’s passions beyond comics and games. He said he’s just a few months away from earning his black belt.
Also, the pair said they plan to keep the space’s existing stage for potential live music and performances — perhaps giving local bands and Whittaker’s own heavy-metal outfit, DOCTOR MEAT, a place to play. And, not least of all, The Annex’s upstairs may, one day, be a recording space for the Super-Fly guys to revive the store’s podcast on all things nerdy.
“The way we cross-pollinate our skillsets into one kind of cohesive vision is something you could call a strength of ours,” Barry laughed.
“The larger idea for me is there aren’t a whole lot of places for kids to go or people who don’t drink,” Whittaker said. “We’re really trying to do the communal thing.”
The Super-Fly guys see that beneficial cross-pollination going beyond the walls of The Annex. They imagine that their gaming space will bring folks to Millworks who will, in turn, consider going to Yellow Springs Brewery for a beer, or vice-versa.
“During the summer months, people will stop by Super-Fly Prime — I’m still trying to figure out what to call our main location — to get a board game on their way to the brewery,” Barry said. “And now, we’ll have a full room dedicated for just that. I really think the brewery and us can feed each other.”
If the whole of the tabletop gaming industry is any indication, Barry and Whittaker have high hopes for the success of The Annex.
A report from market research firm Arizton states that the worldwide board games industry is worth $21.5 billion, and is on track to grow to more than $39 billion by 2031. The website and online database BoardGameGeek estimates there may be more than 180,000 distinct board game titles in the world.
“It’s all been trending up over the last 20 years,” Barry said. “We happened to be in the right place.”
“And COVID made a big difference,” Whittaker noted. “People were coping any way they could and rediscovered gaming. It’s just one of those departments we can’t keep up with.”
“We’ve really tried, though!” Barry continued. “I’ve really tried to order irresponsibly, to find out what ordering too many dice looks like, but I just can’t find that ceiling. I’ve done an order of $2,000 worth of dice, and that’s not enough.”
Beyond the ever-growing popularity of in-person gaming, the pair said there’s something unique about Yellow Springs in particular that has lent Super-Fly’s good fortunes. The village is a casual, easy-going community that appreciates unconventional ways of doing business, and they said it rallied behind them when the going got tough. Earlier this year, when a drunk driver crashed into the Dayton Street store, sales spiked as folks sought to help cover the costs of merchandise lost.
“So, why Yellow Springs? Because this place is home. It’s where our people are,” Barry said.
He continued: “There’s this generational shift happening in town where we’re seeing longterm businesses closing up shop left and right. Not us. I want it known that I’m making the active choice to double down on this place I love. This is my community and I’m showing up. I’m doing what I can to help make this town thrive.”
Super-Fly Comics and Games’ main location is at 132 Dayton St., in downtown Yellow Springs. The Annex is located at 305 N. Walnut Street. The business can be reached at 937-767-1445 or http://www.superflycomics.com