With the extinction of big box toy stores, smaller shops like Raven Forge Games and Rogue Toys in downtown sanford are serving a customer base of collectors and gamers
By Billy Liggett and Gordon Anderson
Toys ’R Us. KB Toys. FAO Schwarz. Those who grew up in the 1980s and earlier might remember the joy of walking through the doors of a large store dedicated solely to toys and games. Especially around Christmas, trips to the toy store were reconnaissance missions to build that ever-important wishlist for Santa. For parents, they were a one-stop shop for Christmas morning magic.
When Toys ’R Us closed the last of its big box stores in 2021, it marked the end of a retail era in the U.S. as parents (and Santa) turned to online shopping for their toys and games. Their absence did open the door for a resurgence of “mom and pop” toy stores across the country.
Count Raven Forge Games among them. Born in a small second-story rented room on North Steele Street in November of 2021, Raven Forge has grown considerably in just three years and now has a home further down Steele in the heart of downtown Sanford. Launched by Ryan Morgan and Jacob Peterson (and now run by Ryan and his wife, Shauna), the business is popular with gamers (role playing games, board games, card games) and is as much a “hang out” for enthusiasts as it is a store.
Raven Forge’s early success is a good sign for Rogue Toys, a small vintage toy store at the intersection of Chatham and Wicker streets on the other side of downtown Sanford.
Opened in August by recent North Carolina transplant Matthew Sarmiento, Rogue Toys specializes not in the toys found on the “what’s trending?” list, but those that would have been found in Toys ’R Us, KB Toys and their competitors in the 80s and 90s.
Both Raven Forge Games and Rogue Toys have given parents and secret Santas in Sanford a closer option to fill out those wishlists this month. More importantly, they’re providing variety and bringing fun to a downtown area still seeking businesses that are in it for the long haul as the city around it continues to grow.
RAVEN FORGE GAMES
It’s been just over two months since Raven Forge Games “upgraded” from its tight quarters on the northern edge of downtown Sanford to its new location at 132 S. Steele St. But already, the bigger space and increased foot traffic have paid off for Ryan and Shauna Morgan.
“The move has been great,” says Ryan. “We’ve seen a huge uptick in customers. Not only are our regulars coming in more frequently, but we’re attracting new customers who didn’t know we existed previously. We’ve been asked many times, ‘How long have you been in business?’ and many are shocked when we tell them three years and that we really only moved a block over.”
It’s actually Raven Forge’s second move in just three years. It only took a few months after Ryan Morgan and his friend Jacob Peterson started selling popular games like Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons to move across the street from their one-room digs to a (then) much larger location across the street on North Steele Street in early 2022, on the tail end of a pandemic that crushed many small businesses. At that location, the two built a small, dedicated following of customers thanks to regular events and tournaments featuring their most popular games. Peterson moved on as an owner in February of 2023 (he remains a friend and regular customer), and not long after that, Ryan and Shauna began looking for even more space to accommodate their growing customer base. Their search lasted eight months before they discovered the former home of Purple Poodle Co. (a locally owned boutique) and before that, Super 10, a discount store resembling a Dollar General.
“We looked all over town at a variety of locations and just lucked out when we found out this space was potentially opening up — we had simply outgrown the old space, both in terms of merchandise and event space for people,” Ryan Morgan says. “We were looking for something that could attract more walk-by traffic, hold more space for products, and allow us to continue to grow our event space. We had to start turning customers away, which was something we didn’t want to continue.”
The new location has a giant wall of board games and aisles full of their best-selling card games and role playing games (and their many, many accessories, maps, manuals and starter kits). But the key to Raven Forge Games — and the reason you’ll see so many new and old faces on a weekend afternoon or after work on a Monday through Friday — is its packed event calendar. Monday nights are “ladies night” for Dungeons and Dragons play. Tuesday evenings offer casual Pokemon leagues. Dungeons and Dragons for all on Wednesdays. Board game and Magic: The Gathering play on Thursdays, and even more D&D and Magic on Fridays. The weekends are for Lorcana players, casual Magic players and serious Pokemon gamers.
“Our customers can come in any day to play in the space without feeling like they’re interfering,” Morgan says. “Our event space was very limiting before; whatever the scheduled event was, that was the only space available to customers. Now, we can continue to run those same events, and still have a lot of space for a family to grab a game and play.”
Morgan says the packed calendar is vital to the success of the business. Those events not only introduce their customers to new games, it introduces them to like-minded people.
“We’ve seen so many friendships form through our events; they gain a sense of belonging that maybe they didn’t have before,” he says. “It’s amazing to see customers who were shy when they first came in now have strong ties to the community and really come out of their shell and become ambassadors to other new people.
“You can buy almost any of the products we sell online, and we know that. But what you can’t get is the expertise of our staff to help you pick the right products, or the excitement of opening an awesome pack of cards with others who share your enthusiasm, or a place to play the games you love with others who also care as deeply as you.”
Equally important is the merchandise, and Raven Forge’s bigger floorspace has allowed the Morgans to expand their product line. They’ve added puzzles, Gundam models and local vendors and expanded almost every product line they previously carried. They’re carrying more classic board games like Monopoly, Life and Operation, have added more Squishables, new paint lines and accessories and more card accessories (like Dungeons and Dragons-themed candles).
“In some areas, we didn’t increase our inventory, but the way we displayed it has increased visibility and made it accessible,” Morgan says. “For example, our card game playmats were previously in the manufacturers boxes and it was difficult to see the artwork. We’ve opened them up and hung them on hangers so that customers can now see the full artwork and we’ve seen a big uptick in sales because of this.”
The Christmas shopping season is an important month for any small business, and the Morgans are counting on a strong December to close out their first calendar year since the move. The board games, puzzles, stuffed animals and starter kits are popular gifts, and their aisles are packed with stocking stuffers as well.
And for parents who are unsure of what kind of game their kids would be interested in — or even what type of Pokemon cards are the most popular right now — Raven Forge’s staff is full of men and women who are collectors and gamers themselves. They’re skilled in explaining nuanced games to beginners and what’s trending to uninformed parents.
“Our staff are great at helping walk people through the options when it comes to the more complicated purchases,” Morgan says. “Sometimes people take a picture of what their loved ones have and show the staff which can help if they are completely lost. Dice and accessories always make great gifts for any RPG fans. We also have gift cards if we can’t help them figure it out, and a great return policy if a mistake is made.
“We want all our customers to walk away with an awesome experience and come back again.”
ROGUE TOYS
In December of 2023, Matthew Sarmiento completed a move to North Carolina, something he’d been trying to do for years.
Growing up in the deserts of southern California and then spending much of his adult life in Las Vegas, he and his wife had been seeking something different for a long time, and North Carolina had been particularly attractive to them on visits to their son who was a Marine stationed at Camp Lejune in Jacksonville.
“You have this color here that we didn’t have in California or Vegas. I think it’s called green,” he explained with a laugh. “When I wake up in the morning, my favorite thing is walking outside and hearing crickets. It just smells fresh.”
Although the couple had been trying to move to for North Carolina specifically for a while, Sanford wasn’t immediately on their radar until a real estate agent suggested it over larger cities like Winston-Salem and Raleigh, explaining that their home buying power would stretch further in Lee County.
“We looked at the whole state, and couldn’t find anything we liked as much as Sanford,” he said. “We were driving back from Tennessee and we just decided to stop in Sanford again, and there were carolers and people giving things out on Steele Street. It was homey and there was a sense of community. It felt like Mayberry.”
Sarmiento, who has identified with “nerd culture” (think comic books, Star Wars, Saturday morning cartoons, and more) since he was young, achieved another lifelong dream just a few months later in August of this year — opening Rogue Toys, a vintage collectible toy shop at 151 Chatham St. in downtown Sanford.
“I dreamed about having a comic book shop when I was 16,” he said. “This isn’t a comic book shop, but it’s about as close as you can get.”
Sarmiento’s Rogue Toys location is the first franchise for the company, which also has stores in Las Vegas, Portland, Oregon and the Salt Lake City area of Utah (you might recognize the name from TV’s “Pawn Stars,” on which Rogue Toys’ Vegas staff served as the show’s vintage toy experts). Sarmiento had been involved with Rogue’s Vegas locations and prior to his arrival in North Carolina was offered the opportunity to open his own store.
“I sacrificed 90 percent of my collection to open the store,” he said. “For me it was hard, but it also wasn’t. I tell myself I own a toy store, and my attitude is if I own a toy store, I can get it back eventually.”
The small space is absolutely crammed with collectibles, most of which Sarmiento has amassed from other collectors. Examples include vintage G.I. Joe figures and models, all manner of Star Wars memorabilia, classic pro wrestling figurines, Cabbage Patch dolls, movie posters, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise, a full set of KISS dolls, a working Evel Knievel toy set from 1974, “Dukes of Hazzard” figurines, a signed “Thundercats” sword, and much, much more (the list literally goes on and on). Items from Sarmiento’s private collection that aren’t for sale (but on hand to look at) include an Iron Man mask signed by comic book legend Stan Lee, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books drawn and signed by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. He’s even got a photo of Sanford Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon at store wearing a mask from the Star Wars TV show “The Mandalorian.”
Sarmiento is a veteran who turned to collecting in his adult life as a method of dealing with PTSD. He started with Transformers and sold most of that collection before he “got bored” and branched out to other things.
“When I started, the store was pretty heavy on Star Wars stuff,” he said. “It kind of looked like a Star Wars store with a few other toys. It’s been crazy to watch it grow since then. Lots of this stuff has been from people just coming in with things they had in their attic or whatever. It’s tough being a collector — it’s definitely a dilemma. The collector in me wants to keep all this stuff, but the business owner wants to sell.”
Sarmiento went through the city of Sanford’s RISE (Real Investment in Sanford Entrepreneurs) program, and while he didn’t win a grant to start his business, he moved forward anyway, believing Sanford was the perfect place to appeal to the kid in everyone.
“We had to write a mission statement, and what I came up with was ‘anybody can buy a toy, but I want to sell a memory,’” he said. “I know it sounds cheesy, but these things are a connection to childhood. And you don’t have to be a collector to like toys. I have people come in all the time and say, ‘Wow, I had this when I was a kid! I need to bring my own kids in here.’ With vintage toys, everything has a story. I don’t know everything about toys, and I never will. I’m still learning. But I didn’t know anything when I started out. I just did it for toy credit and to help with my PTSD.”
Rogue Toys is approaching its first holiday buying season (which is under way as you read this) and Sarmiento is confident that the groundwork he’s laid since opening in August will lead to a successful year.
“We just want people to keep coming into the store,” he said. “I was so used to Vegas, which is just so big. It’s been a challenge, but I think I’ve adapted. I do a loyalty program, I do events where we have raffles and toy swaps and events focused around Saturday morning cartoons. That’s all nostalgia.”
Ultimately, Sarmiento knows he’s “unique” to downtown Sanford but feels gratified that people are responding to what he’s built. He said he loves the community aspect and was particularly happy to get a welcome from the owners of Raven’s Forge, a business trafficking in the very adjacent tabletop gaming industry, as well as support from Downtown Sanford, Inc.
“(The owners of Raven’s Forge) came by and said ‘hey, we’re nerds too. If you ever need anything, let us know,’” he said. “I love Sanford and want to see it succeed, which is why do all I can to bring people in. I haven’t regretted moving here a bit.”
Great article on a couple of terrific businesses. In my youth, going to the Hobby Shop on Steele Street to buy miniature airplane replicas was a treat. Glad to see these places rekindling that kind of experience downtown.