Set to open by the end of April, Dojo Comics & Games will open its doors to the town of Farmville with a variety of items, including comic books, trading card games and board games as well as apparel, novelty items and party supplies. From Marvel to Magic: the Gathering, Dojo Comics & Games will be able to tap into a market in the local and campus communities that are underground, but thriving.
Businesses in Farmville that currently sell trading cards include Walmart, Rite Aid and the pet store, Suzie’s Zoo.
The co-owners who are jumpstarting Dojo include Shane Motameni, Sydney Moineau and Alex Spirn.
Motameni works as General Manager at Domino’s, is originally from Charlottesville and has lived in Farmville for 10 years. Moineau is the General Manager at Bar 202, was born in Baltimore, Md., grew up in Rappahannock County in Virginia and has lived in Farmville for nine years. Spirn is a Longwood alumnus from Williamsburg and currently works as Director of Coaching for the Heart of Virginia Soccer Club. All plan on remaining in their original positions while managing Dojo Comics & Games.
“The reason it started is we would go around town and there will be a fast food place and you would see people sitting there, playing Magic or any other number of games ... in just always random places,” said Motameni. “I believe there is a market here,” said Motameni.
Motameni remains confident in opening a new business in town while other businesses in Farmville continue to suffer. One example of this is when it was reported on Tuesday, March 19, that Kroger Grocery Store in the South Gate Shopping Center will be scheduled to close on May 21 of this year, according to WFLO.
Motameni said, “Compared to a lot of businesses around town, [Dojo] is pretty low maintenance. As far as whether there is going to be a market for it – well, I believe there’s actually been a pretty decent response.”
Spirn further added, “The fact is that there’s nowhere to go. Everyone plays, but behind closed doors, or they set up their own little thing. We wanted to set up a place where they could all come.”
Concerning the community that is Longwood University, there have been various video game tournaments organized in the past few years, including the “LAN Party” and the “Super Smash Bros!” Tournament, held this past Friday by Association of Computing Machinery and this Saturday by Phi Mu Delta respectively. In the past, Longwood used to have an organization titled, the Longwood Table Top Gamers, with the sole purpose of students collecting to play trading card and board games as well as a variety of other genres of games.
Spirn stated that his goal in heading the Dojo movement alongside Motameni and Moineau is to gain “a little bit of notoriety to the whole scene, definitely, kind of put this whole culture more in the forefront than it has been in the past.”
Moineau said, “I plan on having multiple businesses. So, to me, this is a good place to start with low-investment costs and relatively low risks. So, I hope to have this be a jumpstart to owning another business, to owning another Dojo.”
Motameni stated that he believes the entertainment culture is moving more toward the comic and fantasy- based genre. “It’s becoming more and more a part of the culture, I think, or a bigger part, being pushed to the front,” he said.
“A lot of people play video games behind closed doors. There’s no real place for people to gather and play,” said Motameni.
Speaking on Dojo Comics & Games, Motameni said, “We really want this to be a place where people will feel comfortable and be themselves.”
“We want people to loiter. We want people to feel this is a second home,” said Motameni.
For future goals at Dojo Comics & Games, Motameni said, “In five years, I hope to be successful and still here and this be self-sustaining.”
Dojo Comics & Games is located on 408-B South Main Street. For more information, call (434) 391-3656 or email DojoLLC@gmail.com.
To gain more attention to the store, the owners created a Facebook page and have passed out cards as well.
