Gryphon Games & Comics to Become a Community-Owned Co-Op

Liana Sanders

Local comic book, game and hobby store to become the first business of its kind to make the shift to a co-op, joining other staples such as New Belgium and the Fort Collins Food Co-op.

Gryphon Games & Comics, located at the intersection of Drake and Shields in Fort Collins, Colorado is now seeking intent for membership for their transition from a privately-owned company to a community-owned cooperative. The owners are looking for community involvement in lieu of a private-party sale. Membership options are now available for any community members and customers of the local hobby store.

Gryphon Games & Comics has long been a community-oriented space with rooms and tables for enthusiasts of board games, trading card games, role-playing games and more. This local haven for fans of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and the Pokémon Trading Card Game will now allow its patrons to claim a portion of ownership by turning the business over to the community ownership throughout the next couple of months.

The formation of the Gryphon Games and Comics Co-Op has been a project of local owners for months now. Working with a local attorney that specializes in co-op creation, in addition to a specialist bookkeeper and accountant, the owners have worked out two tiers of membership along with room for members to further invest in shares of the business.

“We are looking for future members to declare their intent to become members. We need $210,000 of total membership and investment shares to be pledged in order to proceed to the next step of forming the Co-Operative. The goal for complete transition is October 1st, 2018.”

The membership tiers, Eagle and Lion, differentiate members by financial contribution and continued involvement in the store’s future. At a $5000 investment, Eagle Members will be more involved in ongoing operations and expected to contribute at least 5 hours of paid work into the Co-Op each quarter.

Lion members, on the other hand, will enjoy more of an in-store rewards program with much less expected involvement for a $100 one-time investment plus $25 recurring annually. For this, Lion members can look forward to an in-store credit reward based on their purchases made in the store each year.

Patrons in tiers of membership will be eligible for service on the Board of Directors, the new governing body taking over from the current owners upon the foundation of the co-op.

Included in the Co-Op agreement is the on-site coffee and snack shop. The Purple Cup Cafe, which is also owned by the Sanders. The shop offers food and drinks to patrons of the retail store as well as community space-users and the general public. Interested community members can inquire about co-op membership in the store or visit https://www.gryphongamesandcomics.com/ for more information.

Gryphon Games & Comics has been locally-owned-and-operated by Sherman and Liana Sanders for 13 years. Gryphon has been located in their current space at the intersection of Drake and Shields for over three years. The current location offers retail space, the Purple Cup Cafe coffee shop and multiple rooms of cost-free community space.

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If you would like additional information, please reach out to Liana Sanders at liana@gryphongamesandcomics.com/ (970) 224-3599 or use any information found on our recent blog post discussing co-op membership here: https://www.gryphongamesanddomics.com/Blogs/Detail/117