Level Up: The Gaming Emporium upgrades to larger location

After two hours at Milwaukee Burger throwing business ideas up into the air, the duo David Miller and Frank Vang combined their gaming passions and set their sights on opening the Gaming Emporium on Rib Mountain Drive in June 2025. Just 13 months later, the Gaming Emporium has seen immense growth, prompting the move from their 3,600-square-foot storefront to the 23,000-square-foot vacated JoAnn Fabrics store down the road, transforming the space into a pop-culture temple.

“We were already looking at space for a warehouse for our production area. We definitely needed more production, but the parking was also an issue. I think there’s only about 20, 25 parking spaces, so that limits your customers,” Miller said. “I personally think that opportunity is the biggest part because you know, [with] a location like this, now we’re in a different realm. We are the Old Navy. We are the Walmarts. We’re in that kind of category ... This is going to be more of a one-stop store. Right now I think we’re going to be pretty close to 25,000 different items. Within the next couple months, we’ll probably have over 50,000 different items.”.

For Vang and Miller, this increased inventory is a chance to strategically expand the product line of existing items while introducing new products never seen on the Gaming Emporium shelves.

“Something new that we’re bringing here that we don’t have from the store is Warhammer,” Vang said. “And we’re going to do a large expansion on plushies. So we took away the plushies over there because we didn’t have the space anymore, but now with the space, we can bring back plushies. Pokémon plushies, any type of plush. And then large expansion on plastic models, video games expansion.”

“Now that we have the space, we are going to expand on all the departments, but we can also add new departments too,” Miller added.

The Gaming Emporium currently sells about 25,000 different items. With the expanded space, the owners hope to feature 50,000 items in the coming months.

Photo by Nate Hahn

These expansions also create an opportunity for the Gaming Emporium to engage with the local gaming scene outside of retail operations, creating space for the community to meet, compete and collaborate in-store

“We have a gaming table area now, so we can hold events, we can have tournaments, we can have play space for D&D groups, or for just Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon tournaments,” Miller said. “So with the space we have, we might be able to hold a regional or qualifiers or pro-tour invites. So it’s just giving us the opportunity to grow in that area too.”

But this competitive space in addition to the rows of LEGO, Funko Pops and Pokémon is Miller and Vang’s effort to connect generations of gamers while reviving the feel of classic arcade and industry veterans.

“I’m kind of at the end of my part of the business, and [Frank] is at the beginning of it. My goal has always been just to make it the best it can be. A lot of people have never been to KB Toys or Toys R Us or even like Chuck E. Cheese ... these fun places to go that were catered to the kids or the nerdy people and stuff like that are growing up. And to see this succeed the way it has already for a year, the possibilities are really endless,” Miller said.

The Gaming Emporium opens its new location next to Barnes & Noble on Rib Mountain Drive on Aug. 1 at noon. Updates can be found on the Gaming Emporium’s Facebook page.