New gaming shop opens in Glen Ellyn

[ GLEN ELLYN ]

Hardcore gamers in Glen Ellyn have a new spot to hang out and play with the opening of a new shop.

The Gaming Goat, 477 Forest Ave., opened its doors Aug. 23 and 20-year-old owner Vincent Alleruzzo hopes to tap into DuPage County’s game-playing market. He believes the stars aligned perfectly for the store to come into being.

“It was honestly a lot of things at once,” he said. “I love learning a new story and playing a game. Sometimes, it can teach you things.”

The store offers more than 300 different board games, card games and “miniature games.” Alleruzzo, a West Chicago resident, said he opened the store to offer games at a more reasonable price and is excited to be “his own boss.”

Before opening his gamer paradise, Alleruzzo attended the University of Illinois-Chicago and College of DuPage in hopes of becoming a doctor before switching to his game store dream.

“I think with either path I wasn’t choosing an easy path. I know there’s a lot to deal with in owning a store, and there would have been a lot to deal with if I was going to med school,” he said. “I think I would have been happy either way. I try to be as happy-go-lucky as I can.”

When asked what is the hardest part of being a young business owner, Alleruzzo was quick to answer: paperwork.

He said paperwork had to be filled out very precisely and with attention to detail. He said if something was misspelled or there was an error, they would have to redo it.

Alleruzzo started putting his plan into motion about a year and a half ago. He garnered the support of his friends – who are also co-owners of the store – Kevin Lauf, 20, of Carol Stream and Aaron Fagalde, 20, of West Chicago. The friends pulled together their own money – $5,000 each – and received additional support from The Gaming Goat CEO and President Jeff Bergen.

There are Gaming Goat locations in Oak Park, Naperville, Geneva, Elgin, Joliet and the largest, according to Alleruzzo, holding flagship in Schaumburg.

Alleruzzo hopes gamers from Glenbard high schools – including Glenbard West, which is a few blocks from the store – and College of DuPage will be attracted to the store.

Carol Stream resident and College of DuPage student Eric Dwyer has visited the store about three to four times a week since the store’s opening.

Dwyer said he has been to other Gaming Goat locations and enjoys the personable attention given to gamers and the people that run the stores.

“I’m actually very glad they opened a location here,” he said. “It’s very close to the school I go to, so it’s a nice easy trip.”

Alleruzzo hopes to follow in the footsteps of other successful locations such as Schaumburg and Elgin and hopes to develop a strong rapport with customers.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy having three 20-year olds start a business,” he said. “I’m old enough that older gamers will respect me and not look down on me. ... I’m not too old where people come down here and think I’m an old fogey playing games.”

Alleruzzo said there has been a mix of younger kids, college kids and even adults coming to play games in the separate gamers room they have.

As far as the future of the store and the owners, Alleruzzo said the other co-owners would like to open their own stores within the coming years if the Glen Ellyn location proves successful.

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If you go

• WHAT: The Gaming Goat

• WHEN: Noon to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and noon to midnight Friday and Saturday

• WHERE: 477 Forest Ave., Glen Ellyn

• INFO: thegamingoat.com and 630-793-9862