Owners Tony Pearce and Jeremy LaMar owned a store called The Nerd Cave for 4 years in Lakeport CA. They partnered with another gaming store called Kingdom Games to open Kingdom Games Ukiah. All three stores operated very well but over time the two partners had different views on how to grow their businesses so The Nerd Cave was sold to Kingdom Games in exchange for their share of the Ukiah store. Kingdom Games then absorbed The Nerd Cave and became an entirely new brand and company.
Looking to rebrand the Ukiah store, Tony Pearce was approached by Dan Church and Jeff Morra, the former owners of a now-closed gaming store in Willits CA called Gateway Games. They had worked with Tony in the past and knew he was looking to open a 2nd location and start with a fresh new brand. They offered their name, logo and support asking only that we bring our brand to Willits because they felt the town really needed something like us. After some discussion, owners Tony and Jeremy LaMar were happy to oblige, loving the name “Gateway Games” and the town of Willits CA. The Ukiah store was rebranded and work began immediately on opening a 2nd location in Willits. Thus the new Gateway Games brand was born!