CHG will be closed due to possible flooding

admin · CHG will be closed due to possible flooding

Our landlord is shutting off the power today (Monday June 9th) in anticipation of flooding. It is unknown when the doors will be opened again. We will keep you updated!

That is all the information we have right now. We are working on a possible limited hours schedule during this time. Thanks for your cooperation!

Locnar

Hey guys, I hope everything goes ok and the store is not damaged. Good Luck!

vegeta7913

hmmm...I propose we put crit hit on stilts, that way weather won't effect our gaming.

admin

We were thinking about getting a metric ton of african swallows to "levitate" the store during this time. However, we didn't think we could find enough coconut husks to put on the roof.

vegeta7913

have you ever considered just using super glue?

White Phoenix

I share your pain Jerod. The University is shutting down the art, theatre and music building as of 5 pm tomorrow night.

thafner89

admin

Ooooh! We now have sand bags! Bring it mother nature!! Wait, doesn't sand come from nature? Is this going to turn into one of those Mother Nature vs Mother Nature tropes you hear so much about?

vegeta7913

Sand bags?! Oh me, oh my - do you get to keep them as a mementos?

admin

One can only hope! Sandbags, mother nature's way of telling you you're screwed!

Hive Mind Leader

whole new meaning to "escalation" if you ask me....

I say we have a sandbagging party at CHG tomorrow or better yet, hire up a bunch of tanker trunks to haul water to the SE they were whining about a drought.....

My kingdom for a weeks worth of sun and dryness!

kar2nr

this was behind my store in ohio this past august..............

it was a mess.the picnic tables were in the park next to the store.

jpat

I think it's going to take more than a week's worth of dry weather, but it wouldn't hurt.

Good luck, guys. Maybe afterward we can use those sandbags for a LARP version of Memoir '44.

Groomie

You can move CHG into the Knox basement, I'll be a great night watchman.

homer

Just wondering if the store has flood insurance?

thafner89

i'm so mad! I've spent a bunch of time lately PAINTING my armies, and now i can't even play with them... Crying or Very sad

admin

We're working on a possible alternate location! Hopefully, we'll find out next week.

Pete

Hurray! *gurgle gurgle*

gqpolitico · pictures?

do you have any pictures of what's happening to the store? Is there anything else that needs to be done?

Kaufmann

TheEyes100

There's a video on YouTube of the strip, and, lo and behold... CHG!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BweHzCvdeA

My vote:

LARP Pirates!

Groomie

Did the cool gaming table make it out of the store?

Blood Bowl Wizard

I'm not worried about the table, another can always be made.

Jason

admin

Hey guys, this is Gigi checkin in to give you all an update. If you've seen the video posted in this thread then you know about as much as we do about the flood situation.
We haven't been able to get down there today because of road closings, but we assume that the water is over our sandbags by now.
We got as much stuff out as possible but left the tables and chairs. I guess leaving those holes in the floor was a mixed blessing! But the basement is going to be a disaster. That's where the Riverside Theatre keeps their scenery and props. Hopefully they got all their important stuff out.
For now, we're waiting for the water to recede. That could take weeks. So Jerod is scouting out temporary locations for the store. It will be difficult, though, to find a space big enough to game in if we still have to pay rent at our flooded store.
Hopefully we'll have some leads early next week. We were going to have game days at the IMU, but that's a wash now. Maybe we can do an impromptu gaming convention at the Marriott! Oh, wait, that's almost underwater too.
Anyway, Jerod and I are going to go home for a couple days this weekend to see our families, who will keep us preoccupied and get our mind off the flood. Who knows when we'll be able to make it back there once the cleanup begins.
So sit tight and if you see any retail space for rent, let us know! When we get back we might have to set up our basement again like the good old days!

Vitamin T

jpat

Good luck, guys, as inadequate as that is.

thafner89

I know there are a TON of vacant spots over in Eastdale Plaza.

admin · CHG on Friday

TheEyes100

I was just about to post that exact picture. Damn you Jerod and Gigi *shakes fist in a Snidely Whiplash manner ala the Wacky Races*

TheEyes100

My beloved art building this morning:

http://bp0.blogger.com/_U05yrtQBc...ZkYSGcuCQ/s1600-h/web_DSC0308.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uinews/2576634552/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uinews/2576631314/

TheEyes100

And here's an aerial view of the Game Store and the Strip

kar2nr

wow

i did nto realize the river was that close to the store.

admin

Luke found this shot from somewhere! As you can tell the water is clearly over the flood panels. So I can only assume that the water is in store as well!

http://www.agameofthrones.com/agotforums/posts/list/0/8062.page#159290

TheEyes100

Yeah that's the one that was with the ones I found in the Press-Citizen earlier. They're doing a much better job than KCRG or KWWL are on covering the IC flood... hell flood waters have already crested in CR and KCRG still spent 90%+ of yesterday showing film of and talking about their problems.

wrekka

I've pretty much just been relying on the internet for my news since they keep repeating the same coverage over and over. They were just showing videos of thursdays coverage on KWWL.

Nazgul12 · wow, I really hope this works out ok

I really can't believe how bad this got so quickly. I just thought I put the idea out there that maybe us customers, whenever you get a temporary location, should go ahead and try to buy some of the purchases we were otherwise going to put off a bit. Now really seems like the time to make a few purchases and help the store out, and I think that's definitely what I'm going to do. I hope everyone else shares my sentiment so together we can help get the store back on its feet. Best of luck whatever happens.

-Jake

TheEyes100

Yeah, Jerod and Gigi, when all this water recedes and you guys need help cleaning up and making repairs, let me know and I'll come over and lend a hand.

homer

[quote="TheEyes100"]Yeah that's the one that was with the ones I found in the Press-Citizen earlier. They're doing a much better job than KCRG or KWWL are on covering the IC flood... hell flood waters have already crested in CR and KCRG still spent 90%+ of yesterday showing film of and talking about their problems.[/quote]

The mediums are completly different, comparing them is ridiculous. Not only are they different The Press Citizen is based in IC and KCRG/KWWL are based in CR. I can understand you're upset along with many other people in the IC area, but I know for a fact that KCRG is still providing excellent coverage of all the area's that they are able to access. Plus they are doing it without water and electrical power. I am sure if you sit tight sooner or later IC will get more coverage as they are physically able.

TheEyes100

Homer,

Try not to read context into my words that isn't there; I'm not upset in the least. I was simply stating the facts. if you want the best coverage of what is going on in IC don't look to Eastern Iowa television news for it. The Press Citizen, the Iowa City government, and U of I web pages are vastly more informed about and paying more attention to the IC/Coralville area.

homer

[quote="TheEyes100"]Homer,

Try not to read context into my words that isn't there; I'm not upset in the least. I was simply stating the facts. if you want the best coverage of what is going on in IC don't look to Eastern Iowa television news for it. The Press Citizen, the Iowa City government, and U of I web pages are vastly more informed about and paying more attention to the IC/Coralville area.[/quote]

But all I have to go on is your words, if you're not upset then I appologize for missreading your words. On the other hand you do claim some fantastical information. I find it hard to believe you know for a FACT that 90+ % of KCRG's coverage was of the Cedar Rapids area. I doubt that very much.
What I don't understand is why not just make a positive comment such as "The Press-Citizen has good coverage of the Iowa City area."

RStruve

Ok, Cedar Rapids perspective here!

Besides the news channels being located in Cedar Rapids, the floods are worse here (at least as of today). We have several main bridges that allow residents to go from the east side to the west side of town... those bridges are completely under water - not just a little wet, but completely under water. The only way to get across town is to use I-380 (and even that was closed for awhile). If you are familiar with CR, you can imagine how nearly impossible it is to have those bridges completely disappear.

Not only is the flooding worse here, it has flooded out major city buildings - such as the main fire department, police department, city hall, courthouse, water treatment plant, 2 hospitals and even the jail to name a few. One hospital had to do a complete evacuation of all patients (this hospital is 10 blocks from the river), all prisoners had to be relocated to an undisclosed location (well, I know where... so if you have a nail file you need to smuggle in, give me a buzz!). The police and fire department also headquartered the city's radio dispatchers - and the county sheriff radio room was part of the courthouse. All under water.

To top it all off - Cedar Rapids is under a water-ban. We have to be extremely cautious with water usage... no showers, washing, etc. So maybe it's best if CHG is temporarily closed - nobody would want to sit next to me for a few days!

I have seen video and news reports from Iowa City, and it is bad there too - and I feel extremely concerned for Jerod and Gigi... hopefully the store will be recoverable and business back to normal before long.

clu

now boys, let's all get together on this! We are all going through something I heard a professor say as "once in a lifetime event".

Times of stress are running high and it's what we CAN do is the bottom line. Take care of family first, then friends and then work. We'll be back soon enough to right the ship. Let's keep the ship from mutineying (sp) first!

White Phoenix

Gigi,
I believe that the old Sherwin Williams store in the strip mall on 1st Ave in Iowa City (across from Eastdale) is still up for rent.

Chris

kar2nr

there's a feww at Tanger but i don't kow if you guys want to come this far....

Kaufmann

when the waters recede im willing to spend most of my free time helping you guys clean up the store, or reopen in a new location

wrekka

I'm also willing to donate my free time to helping the store.

-Cloud

Hive Mind Leader

I say we build a store in the vancet lot by IHOP.... it's near the mall so when we have major game days we got tons of food choices within walking distance... plus it's even closer to my house! More parking. No more contact highs from nail polish remover either! Oh wait.... that's a fringe perk of the current CHG locale right? Smile

In all seriousness, I will be there for any and all help I can provide Jerod and Gigi. Just let me know what I can do.

Hive Mind Leader

oh hey... anyone hear anyting from Shane too? Walgreens took a big hit too Sad

Mophat

JJackson

DarkKnightRising

I also can help out with whatever you need to reopen and get back to a semblance of normalcy.

Brandon

admin · Working towards a new space

Hey all!

I've been a little busy lately but that's a good thing! I am currently in talks with a couple of possible spaces right now. We're exploring more options as well.

From downtown Iowa City all the way to Coral Ridge Mall Kiosk! I have to carefully weigh all the proposals before locking myself into anything. Hopefully, I will have come up with something by my self imposed deadline (Friday June 20th).

I have already spoke with my insurance folks and the nice people at the SBA (small business administration) about what they can do to help after the water goes away. It seems promising!

Finally, I have put my name in to rent the Coral Ridge Mall Community Room Sat. June 21st. I can't sell anything there but I can give away all the stuff for Free RPG Day! Hope to see you there!

kar2nr

it's fair to say, what ever you guys decide on doing, i think all of us are willing to support you and gigi.

Houston

Will start putting ranks into my masonry skills to help put CHG back together.

Shane

Hey guys!! Been busy with Walgreens lately....I am sorry about CHG, hopefully we will all recover. I am looking at 100 days after workers can get in for construction before that one will be running again. I will be currently serving patients at the coralridge location. I miss the shop! Good luck, hope to catch up with you guys soon!

Shane

On the brighter side we are all safe....except from that mutant flood monster lurking around... Very Happy

H4WKEYES

Can't wait for the waters to go away, and start helping with the clean up.

Eric

wrekka · Re: Working towards a new space

homer

I was wondering if you had thought about ebaying your current stock with buy it now prices? I have seen many B&M's selling there products on the inter-weeb. Just a thought...

jpat

Hive Mind Leader

hey.... not to throw a wrench in your plans Jerod, but I was rolling through North Liberty today, and there are a TON of office/retail places for rent/lease/sale...

One of them caught my eye... anyone remeber the hobby store in North Liberty? Well seems that place is now for rent/lease. If I remember it right it had pretty decent floor space, more then the current CHG if I remember correctly, more importantly... most the places in North Liberty have plenty of parking, heck the old hobby store location has a parking lot.

Just my 2 copper pieces.

Jerod, you can't "sell" anything, but can you take "donations"?

Groomie

Midamerica had a lot of problems in that area. There is a REALLY bad neighbor in the adjoining residential area behind it who took the store to the city council over ordinance violations. The guy used to yell at us in the parking lot from his deck.

North Liberty is also several more miles away from the U and from bus routes. And with gas prices the way it is...

I don't know. I'd still drive or hitchhike out there. Hell, you can run the store out of the Knox's basement, I'd be a great night watchman.

Pontifex

I'd be all for a North Liberty store! I could probably get there 10 or 12 min. faster and that would save me a ton of gas money over the course of the year :-p

Anyway, when should we meet you at the mall Jarod? Looking forward to it.

e!

wrekka

Woohoo north liberty!

vegeta7913

um, I say we build a store on mechanized stilts so it can be driven to where YOU'RE at. no more annoying finding a parking spot. Of course, we'll need to make sure Teagle's and Hafner's driver's lisc is up to date. I don't think harrison is old enough to drive yet.

wrekka

So whats the word for tomorrow? Where are we supposed to go at the coralville mall? What time?

homer

Is it only rpg or can junkie board gamers who need a fix attend?

TheEyes100

Might want to look around the Sycamore mall and KMart areas as well if you haven't already Jerod. Both have multiple bus lines, food is close, sizable parking lots, and cheaper rent (from what I understand) than a lot of the places on the strip or downtown.

jpat

The Hobby Corner's already in the Sycamore Mall, though, and they have a fairly decent RPG and board game selection already.

TheEyes100

True they do, but from a playing standpoint? Nonexistent. He doesn't carry half of the CCGs and RPGs Jerod does, and it's really a different breed of store altogether... all three of those reasons being why it sees relatively little business in comparison to CHG.

thafner89

I talked to Jerod today and he didn't seem to think that being at coral ridge community center would work. Crying or Very sad

admin

yeah, the Coral ridge Thing didn't work out. We played phone tag. (I think I won because they ended up being "it" for two days). We are planning on rescheduling the RPG Day. As soon aas i know you will know!

jerod

airship

I see Golfzilla, which was up First Ave. from Critical Hit by Bruegger's, has relocated into that strip mall on 965 near Oakdale. Not a bad location, just a half mile or so north of Wal-Mart. Lots of space has sat empty since it was built, so I'm thinking 'motivated landlord'. There's also that new railroad-themed strip mall right at the Oakdale intersection that is still mostly empty. Just a couple of thoughts.

I'm seriously Jonesing for some gaming!

Snowden

The above suggestions is actually really clutch. Not only is that a really nice area with some great space, it's within walking distance of both my apartment and a pretty solid bar! It has my vote.

Shane

Can we cuss in the new location?

Blood Bowl Wizard

Hehe,

We can't even cuss on the forum. And the fourm isn't even a real place.

Knox

Chocolate Tanuki

I heard Cedar Rapids would be a nice place for a real game store Smile

TheEyes100

And a great way to lose a large chunk of your regular already established player base in IC and Coralville due to our distinct loathing of dealing with anything CRapids... read I-380 and a 1/2 hour trip first and foremost Very Happy

Pontifex

hey, all year i have been driving 55 minutes to get to the store— in one case 4 days in a row. If it is a good store and community, what's 30 minutes?

Surprised

e!

PlaguedOne

TheEyes100

Nah, I'm saying I'm a lazy &*((( who hasn't been back to Crapids but once or twice since I left it 9 years ago.

Kaufmann

i went by CHG a couple days ago, i saw the water had receded....is the store reparable?

admin

Hey guys, this is Gigi.
Jerod and I went and visited the flooded game store last night. We snuck inside, even though we're not supposed to go in. I'll have some pictures posted online either today or tomorrow.
Our building will need to be torn down. It's a total disaster and looks like knock's war table after a game between groom and peter.
So one thing we know for sure, there will be no returning to the coralville location for 6 months or more. We are working on two different spots right now. We should know within a couple of days how close we are to nailing that down. I know it seems like it's taking a long time, but we're essentially starting over the business from scratch now, except for the games we saved and all our great gamers who keep checking in on us. but it's taking a long time playing phone tag with all the different people we have to contact to make it happen again.
the one spot we really like has amazing playing space, so stayed tuned.
we've got thomas, teagle and harrison in our basement as we speak sorting Magic cards and going over inventory. we even have some CHG logo ideas from our marketing consultant. so maybe we can start with t-shirts for real!
we appreciate everybody's patience in the meantime. jerod's trying to contact everyone who has special orders, we rescued all those. and apparently games workshop is resending a bits order that was never delivered because of the flood.
if we get the place we like, we'll need to put down flooring, slap up some paint and get all new furniture, so we'll let you know when we need volunteers.
Thanks guys!

homer

Hmm logo design contest?????

kar2nr

LOGO CONTEST?!?!?!? I'M GAME...... Laughing

wrekka

Jerod and Gigi,

It's great to hear that you two are making progress. I wish nothing but luck to the both of you. You know you will have plenty of volunteers, but I am going to extend my hand if any assistance is needed. If you need help at home sorting stuff.. I get pretty bored on the weekends now. My contact number is 317-490-1644.
Let me know if you want any other assistance...

-Chris Cloud

vegeta7913

QUESTION:
Will the Logo be of a Phoenix, rising from the ashes of Knox's Wargame Table?
Question:
Did anyone grab the bloodbowl trophies?
Question:
If not, Can we send someone in after them? (I'd send teagle in after it since he has the most resistant to disease.)

kar2nr

if the BB trophies are not usable, i have the SKULL trophy and blade that was used on the CHGBBL trophy i will be happy to donate, just let me know. Very Happy

i may have another topper if the NJCBBL one is gone too.

admin

i'm not sure on the blood bowl trophies, will have to check with jrok.

-gigi

admin

here's another lovely one.

gigi

admin

and my favorite, jerod surveying the back of the store.

gigi

admin

and i figured you guys would want to see the back room. the photo is fuzzy since it's so dark back there.

gigi

White Phoenix

Ouch! You guys took one heck of beating. Good luck with everything and I am looking forward to when the store reopens.

Chris

Hive Mind Leader

Well, I throw my skills in the ring for your consideration. I have laid plenty of tile and flooring. I've painted plenty too. Also any woodworking, minor electrical or plumbing I can help too, if major plumbing needed I have an uncle who is a plumber. I can buy his services with some barley soda.

Pete

These photos make me very sad Sad

Jerod I'd also like to volunteer for anything you may need help with, if I can be of any assistance.

Seeing the back room like that and Knox's beautiful wargame-table...it makes even an Orc want to cry.

-Peter

wrekka

I propose that once the new place is in order (or the old place needs fixing up.. if we're allowed) that we all get together for a cook-out, have some drinks (for those of us that can/do), and discuss a game plan and such for getting everything back in order.
I can bring a case of beer, some hot dogs and such.. others can bring whatever. We just have to establish a meeting place for said event and have some fun.

This would be good because:
1. Cookouts are awesome
2. It will bring everyone together to discuss a game plan
3. Drinking is fun
4. I dont have a #4.

vegeta7913

That picture of j-to the -rod looking outback is sorta sad. Makes me feel like having Groomie hug him the next time they see one another.

PlaguedOne

Man, that's rough. I hope you guys can get things back in order. Pity there's not a lot I can do from up in Cedar Falls.

Good luck with the move!

homer

At least it was only material loss, things could have been a lot worse. A ccok out is a great idea, I work in CR's so unless it's on a weekend or in the evening I wouldn't be able to attend but send my well wishes. As for a location, the park just up 5th street might be good.

wrekka

vegeta7913

nope, road tripping to Chicago.

CHG will be closed due to possible flooding

pictures?

CHG on Friday

wow, I really hope this works out ok

Working towards a new space

Re: Working towards a new space