We recently connected with Paraic Mulgrew and have shared our conversation below.

Paraic, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

At Knight Watch Games, we transcend the typical “seller” and “buyer” relationship by cultivating an environment that feels more like a community gathering than a mere transaction point. From the moment customers walk through our doors, they are not just shoppers; they are adventurers stepping into a medieval realm where they are welcomed as honored guests and friends.

Our store’s medieval ambiance plays a key role in this transformation. With authentic decor, period music, and staff in themed costumes, we create an immersive experience that transports customers to a different world. This setting fosters a sense of camaraderie and excitement, making each visit to our store an adventure rather than a shopping trip.

We believe in providing quality experiences and amenities even before a transaction takes place. Our customers have access to comfortable seating, high-quality gaming tables, and a diverse library of games to explore freely. This open access allows them to enjoy the space, try out new games, and socialize without any immediate pressure to buy.

At Knight Watch Games, building real relationships with our customers is paramount. We host regular events such as game nights, tournaments, and themed parties that bring people together. These events encourage interaction and help forge strong bonds among gamers. Our passionate staff are always on hand to share their knowledge, offer recommendations, and engage in meaningful conversations, ensuring that every visitor feels valued and heard.

We are also dedicated to legitimizing and empowering the gamer demographic. By collaborating with local schools, libraries, and community centers, we promote the educational and social benefits of tabletop gaming. Our workshops and resources aim to break down stereotypes and highlight the positive aspects of gaming culture, thereby supporting and uplifting our community.

In essence, Knight Watch Games transcends the traditional retail model by creating an immersive, welcoming environment where relationships flourish, experiences are prioritized, and the gaming community is empowered. We are not just a store; we are a hub for connection, adventure, and growth.

Paraic, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Paraic Mulgrew is the mind behind the branding, aesthetic and vision that is Knight Watch Games, as well as The Sanctuary. Having grown up in a gaming household, he has a long tradition of imagination, narrative, and competition. When designing the store, he was inspired the by the romanticism of the Middle Ages, the mystery and magic of the fantasy genre. The result is an atmosphere that is conducive to the games he plays and the people he loves to play with. Paraic now devotes his creative energies towards designing tabletop skirmish games, His latest two titles, Gauntlets of Glory, and Nexus Rising, have won awards from Gamer Trend magazine for Greatest of Gen Con 2021.

Brenda Mulgrew directs the operation of Knight Watch Games and The Sanctuary. She has twenty years of valuable experience in multiple customer service based industries. She was a sales representative for a national Toys and Novelties Company for many years, giving her training in merchandising, licensing and royalties, entertainment trends, and customer service. She was a restauranteur for ten years and gained vast experience in business ownership while under the tutelage of the Miller brothers, who won Bill Miller Bar-B-Q. She is the pioneer behind our wildly successful “Ladies Knight Out” that hosts about thirty women.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

From the beginning, Knight Watch Games and The Sanctuary have strived to elevate what is means to be a table top gamer or Renaissance Faire aficionado. We did this several ways:
1. Offer a clean, immersive and welcoming space in which customers don’t feel pressured to shop, but instead, explore and build relationships with fellow enthusiasts.
2. Offer top-class customer service with a staff that is knowledgeable, passionate, pleasant and welcoming.
3. Offer the best in the respective industries. For Knight Watch Games it would be the the best designed games. For the Scullery (our in-store cafe) the highest quality food, and for The Sanctuary, the highest quality clothing, armor, and weapons.
4. Base the whole company on a series of values that permeate every business decision we make. Honor, Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Courage, Integrity and Service. We demand the same from our customer base and if they don’t deliver, we omit them from our community. We are intensely protective of our loyal customers.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Knight Watch Games has transcended the typical retail experience. In our store, we have two private rooms that customers can rent to host their own private gaming session. The rooms are heavily decorated in an immersive medieval vibe, but also has technologies that help immerse the players, such as Hue Lights that can change colors, a fog machine, a IPad that mirrors onto a flat panel TV, and an Alexa unit that can provide background sounds and effects. With all this value, it is not surprising that many customers use these rooms to celebrate adult birthday parties.

But, surprisingly, our customers also celebrate other important moments within the walls of Knight Watch Games. They include: bachelorette parties, bachelor parties, a divorce celebration. We have had 5 seperate customer get on their knee and propose to their spouse in the store! (All of them said “Yes!”). We have host 3 weddings within Knight Watch Games – the full procession, bride and groom parties, with Paraic getting ordained as a minister so he can officiate. Super significate life moments! To show the full circle of life, we have unfortunately hosted two memorials. One of our customers was a suicide and another was a casualty of COVID. In both instances, their families said, “We want to celebrate their life in the place their were happiest.”

That’s Knight Watch Games. We’re not your typical tabletop game store.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.knightwatchgames.com/ https://thesanctuarystoresa.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knightwatchgames/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KWGamesStore
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/knightwatchgames/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@knightwatchgames
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/knight-watch-games/id1486045710

Image Credits

Photos: Paraic Mulgrew