As I said in the title, my local card shop is adult only. This wouldn't be a problem except the nearest shops are over 60 miles away (hour+ drive) and 80 miles away (about 2.5 hours because there is no highway near us).
My local card shop has been open for around 3 months, and was opened by a guy in my friend group. We would all get together at one of our houses and play commander, modern, make our own tournaments, it was a lot of fun. My wife and I have a 7 year old daughter and all 3 of us would go, my daughter would play on her tablet or color. We are the only people in this group who have any kids and no one has ever complained to our knowledge about having her along. She also plays magic but didn't want to play with adults when we would all get together.
So our friend opened the store in town, and apparently everyone in our friend group "voted" adults only. So now we cannot even go to the store if we have our daughter with us, can't play with our friends anymore because this is the new hangout place, and unfortunately the sitter we used to have is no longer an option for medical reasons. Our friends suggest I just leave my wife at home and I come play but I love being able to play with her so to me that isn't a solution.
I have tried talking to the owner but he will not budge and no one sees my point of view, not even one of my friends. No one wants random people bringing children into the store, or even kids they know. They broadcast this on their Facebook page and whenever anyone questions it they just say "no kid zone".
My wife and I have driven to both card shops that are hours away to actually be able to visit a card shop together and talked to the owners and they both suggested we report our local shop to Wizards of the Coast for ageism and discrimination. We don't want it to come to that but seeing as our local place won't let us go unless we are without our daughter (which right now isn't an option sadly) we are at a loss for what to do. He won't even let us in to buy anything or look around, so tournament or casual play is not the only thing he doesn't allow kids for. I wish I could say we did something or she acted up to provoke this but after discussing it with them they really just don't want any kids or babies or even teens in the store ever.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I miss playing MTG.
I don't think there's much you can do here to create the kind of environment that you want other than just trying to convince your friends to change this policy. Unless somebody has a story about company intervention changing a shop's culture for the better overnight, I doubt that reporting the shop will achieve what you want.
Does this shop do business in any "adult-oriented" products such as alcohol? Otherwise, it just sounds like a bad business decision to ban children from a shop that sells games. Unhappy folks like yourself aside, it sounds like a bad way to grow a community. Maybe you could convince your friends to just have designated "adult-only" nights, which creates the kid-free environment they want without banning you and your family from the store outright.
Open up a competing store that does allow kids and knock them out of business. They don't sound like very good friends. And with that model, they're bound to fail anyhow.
a game store.....that doesn't allow kids? I'm with Kodiak, open a store that does allow kids, then when the problem shop goes under because that is the dumbest idea ever, don't allow those miserable jerks in.
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How's your own home situation, ie table space and such? Maybe you can invite some friends home for Magic game night? What about your daughter, does she have friends that you can invite over?
I think the store is ridiculous but I'm not sure what you can do there.
Find another babysitter. I know it can be hard to find a good one (been there myself) but ask around your community you can find a trusted individual with a little searching. Then subtly remind the owner that you have a babysitter for X hours and it sure would be nice to get a small discount on goods or some perk for responsible parents outlaying money in the form of a babysitter. Good luck.
To follow up: Do they card at the door or in the shop? How do they know someone is 18 and up?
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
How's your own home situation, ie table space and such? Maybe you can invite some friends home for Magic game night? What about your daughter, does she have friends that you can invite over?
This one. If you can't go to the game, bring the game to you.
The people suggesting that you open your own store are ridiculous; that's an extremely expensive and time-consuming option, which would likely mean you can't play at all if you want to be remotely successful, and presumably you and your wife already have your own jobs.
My local card shop has been open for around 3 months, and was opened by a guy in my friend group. We would all get together at one of our houses and play commander, modern, make our own tournaments, it was a lot of fun. My wife and I have a 7 year old daughter and all 3 of us would go, my daughter would play on her tablet or color. We are the only people in this group who have any kids and no one has ever complained to our knowledge about having her along. She also plays magic but didn't want to play with adults when we would all get together.
So our friend opened the store in town, and apparently everyone in our friend group "voted" adults only. So now we cannot even go to the store if we have our daughter with us, can't play with our friends anymore because this is the new hangout place, and unfortunately the sitter we used to have is no longer an option for medical reasons. Our friends suggest I just leave my wife at home and I come play but I love being able to play with her so to me that isn't a solution.
I have tried talking to the owner but he will not budge and no one sees my point of view, not even one of my friends. No one wants random people bringing children into the store, or even kids they know. They broadcast this on their Facebook page and whenever anyone questions it they just say "no kid zone".
My wife and I have driven to both card shops that are hours away to actually be able to visit a card shop together and talked to the owners and they both suggested we report our local shop to Wizards of the Coast for ageism and discrimination. We don't want it to come to that but seeing as our local place won't let us go unless we are without our daughter (which right now isn't an option sadly) we are at a loss for what to do. He won't even let us in to buy anything or look around, so tournament or casual play is not the only thing he doesn't allow kids for. I wish I could say we did something or she acted up to provoke this but after discussing it with them they really just don't want any kids or babies or even teens in the store ever.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I miss playing MTG.
Does this shop do business in any "adult-oriented" products such as alcohol? Otherwise, it just sounds like a bad business decision to ban children from a shop that sells games. Unhappy folks like yourself aside, it sounds like a bad way to grow a community. Maybe you could convince your friends to just have designated "adult-only" nights, which creates the kid-free environment they want without banning you and your family from the store outright.
https://wpn.wizards.com/en/article/updates-alcohol-and-age-restriction-policies
I think the store is ridiculous but I'm not sure what you can do there.
To follow up: Do they card at the door or in the shop? How do they know someone is 18 and up?
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
The people suggesting that you open your own store are ridiculous; that's an extremely expensive and time-consuming option, which would likely mean you can't play at all if you want to be remotely successful, and presumably you and your wife already have your own jobs.
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