Game Play Stay owner hopes to provide escape, safe space in Cloquet
Feb. 23—CLOQUET — In a nondescript location downtown, games, collectibles and a seemingly endless amount of memorabilia line the walls of Game Play Stay, the community's new gaming destination.
For owner Sara Kenwood, it's not just a place to play games and geek out over rare memorabilia — it's a place where people can escape and be themselves.
"I wanted to create a community space for troubled teens and stuff to have a safe place to come relax and get away from struggles they go through," Kenwood said.
Game Play Stay, 305 Broadway St., is something of a living museum for gamers and collectors. Board games line the walls, from classics like cribbage to modern games like Villainous, one of Kenwood's favorite games. There are rows of collectible cards for sale, including vintage Pokemon cards from Kenwood's personal collection. When gaming gets out of hand and gamers lose track of time, candy and soda are for sale to serve as possible late-night fuel.
Game Play Stay opened in October and has been undergoing near-constant renovation as Kenwood aims to create the ultimate gaming destination. She hopes it will soon be able to host full-scale tournaments and serve as a community hub for people with a shared passion for gaming.
"We might not know you personally, but we care about you. If you come in here having a rough time, come sit down, play a game, relax, think, breathe. I'll offer that space all day, every day," Kenwood said.
The store's name also serves as its motto and much like gaming itself, Kenwood hopes her store can provide an escape from the stress and negativity of day-to-day life.
"(Gaming) takes the stress out of daily lives away. It just offers a great release from life," Kenwood said.
For Kenwood, opening Game Play Stay wasn't as much of a business decision as it was personal. It represents something Kenwood didn't have when she was growing up in Cloquet. Kenwood is a lesbian who has struggled with depression and felt when she was growing up, she and her friends just didn't fit in and didn't have anywhere they could go to be themselves. By opening Game Play Stay, she hopes to foster a community she never had.
Kenwood wasn't responding to any economic incentive to open a store, instead, just the feeling that she could create something that Cloquet needed. Though there were always game stores in the nearby Twin Ports, Kenwood wanted to build something that belonged to Cloquet, noting that if she had a place like this growing up, "I would have felt safe to be myself sooner."
Kenwood grew up playing card games like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon — both popular trading card games for kids growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s — and always enjoyed board games. As an adult, she took up playing Pokemon again, which was when the idea first struck her to open a store.
"I'm like, 'I could make a store, make a shop,' you know, a gathering place for people to come and play because we don't have anything like this here," Kenwood said.
Before opening her business, Kenwood read a few books on how to run a game store by fellow game store owners. But aside from that, she opened the store without much business experience and is navigating the realities of operating a business in real-time.
To keep up with the cost of running the store, Kenwood also works in shipping at Sappi. When she can't be at the store because of a scheduling conflict, she will often ask a friend or family member to step in.
For Kenwood though, Game Play Stay isn't a matter of simple dollars and cents. It represents something bigger than that, and though she might be catering to a niche audience, if she can provide a sense of safety and community for just one person, she will have done her job.
"The world is just pressing negatively at you from all angles, every aspect, and it's really hard to manage, but there is help, I guess, and we're here to help people who walk in our door," Kenwood said. "If I can help provide that for one person, everything is worth it."
