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Interviewing Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics

Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics. The OCC. Gabi’s.

Known by many names, Gabi’s is one of the biggest pillars of our community when it comes to Thurston County. I have been going to Gabi’s since I was around 4 years old. I often went there with my mom’s ex and we would look at comics, games, and of course magic cards. I remember wandering around the store while he looked at cards, and I loved getting various things from the gotcha machines around the store. Going to Gabi’s was a big part of my childhood and I was always excited to go there.

How It All Began

She originally started working at the shop when it was located behind the South Sound Mall when she was 15. A couple of years later, she saw that the shop wasn’t going the way she had hoped for, and at only 18 years old, she decided to buy the store for just $1 (plus all of the debt it was in). She poured her blood, sweat and tears into getting the store into a good spot financially, and after 15 years she was able to buy her own piece of land and build her own store front. While building the store had many bumps in the road, many people helped build the store front themselves alongside her. In 2028, she will have been at her current spot for 20 years!

I don’t know many businesses that have the level of community that Gabi’s has. She’s mentioned in other interviews that customers would overhear that she was struggling to pay for something, and they would buy exactly enough products to cover whatever she needed to be paid. I feel like that level of community involvement is something that every small business can hope for. That being said, she has had over 30 years to establish this community and every day she puts everything she can into making it better and more inclusive.

As with many businesses, there have been times when she was ready to throw in the towel and give up because it was too hard, however her community and family have always been there to support her. One of the biggest supporters for Gabi was her dad. She often called him when she was ready to give up, or needed a pick-me-up, and although he passed away right before Covid, she still keeps a note at her desk that he wrote her when she was at one of her lowest. To this day, she says that her dad has been one of the biggest influences on who she is today.

Always Safe and Inclusive

One of my favorite parts about Gabi is that she often implements her Hawaiian upbringing into the store. She makes the store very inclusive for minorities of all kinds, from people of color, to LGBTQ+, and the underhoused. She does her best to make sure that everyone in her store is taken care of, and although she doesn’t have kids of her own, she views all of the kids in her store as her own to protect. I often hear people talk about how it takes village to raise kids, but it also takes one just to help people in general, and I truly feel like Gabi has not only made her own village, but has extended it to everyone in the community. She often says that she is available to help in any way she can, all people have to do is ask, and she’ll see what she can do.

Another thing I love about Gabi is that she always prioritizes people and community over profit. While a lot of places charge for play space, Gabi built an upstairs for people to hang out and play games free of charge. She also has seating where people can read comic for free without buying them. In one of her interviews she talks about how she would rather kids be safe and reading than making a sale on a comic book. Gabi also helps people who have aged out of the foster care system by giving them a place to hangout, food, any supplies they may need, and a sense of belonging. Gabi’s truly is a place for nerds, geeks, and outcasts – really any one who needs a community or a family. One person I talked to said “My husband loves magic the gathering, we go in with our 2 young kids who are pretty timid. The staff makes our kids feel comfortable and safe. They are friendly, and accommodating to kids it’s such a welcoming environment.” Another person had a very similar sentiment “Gabi’s is one of the few places where my introverted trans child feels safe and comfortable, enough to actually engage with staff. Thank you for everything you do, Gabi, as so many have shared already.”

I also love just how inclusive she is. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community I love that she always makes us feel welcome and safe. I also have chronic pain, and I think it’s awesome that she has an elevator for people who have a hard time with stairs or can’t get up them period. There’s also large unisex bathrooms available so people don’t have to worry which bathroom to use and if there will be an issue with the one they choose. She also carries a large array of products for all backgrounds and identities. From books on people of color, to books how to come out to friends and family, to comic books featuring people with disabilities. Not only does she show inclusivity for her customers, but also her staff. I love that she hires an amazing staff of all different backgrounds and identities because it makes it feel like you’re not alone and can always have someone to talk. With the world growing scarier everyday, I love going in there and see that Gabi’s is a safe place for everyone.

Gabi’s Non-Profit Charity – Gabi’s Kids

When I say Gabi and her store is a big pillar of the community I don’t say it lightly. One of the coolest things Gabi does for the community is her none profit Gabi’s Kids which has been around for over 15 years. She originally started out by being a location for food bank donations, and working with Homeless Backpacks, now known as All Kids Win. As I mention earlier, Gabi’s customers love to help anyway they can, and a decent amount of people started to donate food or $5 here, $5 there to help kids that came to Gabi’s. However, one day someone came in and handed her a $1000 check, and it was at that time she decided this needed to be a legit charity so she could be transparent about where the money was going, and that’s how Gabi’s Kids started.

Over the years Gabi’s has supported probably close to 1000 families (if not more) since starting Gabi’s Kids almost 20 years ago. While I don’t have exact numbers for all of the years, in 2020, she helped 272 and the year prior she had help over 150 families. One person I talked to said “during the pandemic, Gabi made sure that kids had food – at least one good meal a day.” Gabi also makes sure that it’s as easy as possible to get food or supplies. She will constantly tell people “there’s no cost, no questions, no requirements, no stigma” and I think that last word is the best part. So many people are embarrassed to ask for help, but Gabi would rather you ask for help, than not have any help at all. She even built a separate storage building outside of her store, just to keep all of the donations in a secure and easy to access spot. It’s truly incredible to me all the work that Gabi puts into her community.

It’s Not All Sun Shine and Rainbows

Covid

Obviously 2020 was a very hard year for all of us, but I know Gabi and the community were hit pretty hard. Normally the store can get pretty loud, however during Covid it couldn’t have been quieter. This was part of the reason it was so hard on Gabi – she’d much rather hear laugher, people talking about comics, and playing games, than it sounding like a library.

While Covid was very hard on everyone, much of the community came out to support Gabi’s anyway they could. People were still donating food, supplies, and money to Gabi’s Kids, and ordering products for drive-up pick-up. This went on for months, and even once the store could reopen, people weren’t allowed to hangout in the store, and capacity was limited.

I was still in high school and without a car during Covid, so I can’t say I visited the store much during this time, but I can only image how hard this time was on the community. That being said, the store is back up and running like normal and is better than ever.

Break ins

If Covid wasn’t bad enough, Gabi has had to deal with 3 break ins since then.

In October of 2021, a group of people smashed open the back door and stole over $8,000 worth of merchandise, which included Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

In October of 2023, two people rammed a pickup truck through the front door. It seemed like they were mostly after Pokémon cards, as they had asked about the value of the boxes the day prior.

And most recently, in January of this year, they went through an attempted break in. The front door glass was smashed with a large rock, and the Gabi’s Kids hut was damaged, but nothing was stolen.

When these break ins happen, Gabi says that while the products getting stole sucks, it’s really the damage that hurts the most, especially when it’s done to the hut. The more Gabi has to spend fixing doors or fixing windows, and replacing products, the less money she can put towards her charity. Even though there is a sign on the hut that says “There is nothing in here to steal. If you need something please ask. We can help”, it still hasn’t stopped people from messing with it, which really sucks.

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Gabi’s, along with many other LGSs aided my journey in becoming a board game enthusiast and even somewhat inspired me to want to start my own store some day. While I’m no where close to opening up my own store, I wanted to take some time to sit down with Gabi and share her insight with the public. If anyone was going to be my first business interview, I’m beyond honored that it’s Gabi and her store.

The Interview:

What the Store Actually Looks Like

After talking about how great Gabi and her store is, you may be wondering what store actually looks like. As I said Gabi built this 7000 SQ FT store by herself with the help of the community, and she even designed the layout. When you walk in from the front door, you’re immediately greeted with TCGs, dice, board games and more hobby accessories like minis and paints.

As you travel through the store you’ll see that the store truly has anything for everyone. There are 100s of games sorted alphabetically split between 6 shelves that damn near reach the ceiling. I love wandering the isles, picking up a game and reading the back of it – I often find new games here that I’ve never even heard of. Walking around Gabi’s reminds me of finding new games with my dad at Card Kingdom. One thing I love is that Gabi’s has a whole display dedicated to kids toys and games, I love that kids as young as 2 can get to be apart of this wonderful hobby.

In the same area of the store on the left side there are tons of DnD books and minis, she even has some handmade campaigns for people to try out. I love that she also offers the DnD board games, as I think while it’s not really DnD, it’s still a good way to get into dungeon crawlers and the idea of DnD. I own two out of three of them – one I got over 15 years ago with my dad, and one I bought from Gabi’s just last year, and while my group constantly reminds me it’s not “real DnD”, I still really enjoy playing them.

On the other side of the store there is the Warhammer side of things, which I can’t personally speak on, but I know that it’s J’s favorite place in the store. In between the DnD and Warhammer sidesthere’s the TCG counter that’s full of various games, like Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, and even the Gundam TCG. She also sells deck boxes, play mats, and sleeves, one of the best parts of TCGs is that you get to personalize every deck with accessories that fit you and the deck.

As you keep moving through the store there’s tons of Funkos of various IPs, from Disney, to anime, to Marvel or DC. There’s also various standees like Gundam kits, action figures, and giant comic book statues. Passed all the statues, there’s hundred if not over a thousand different mangas and comic book issues. The best part of comics is that you can throw a rock and probably hit one you’ll like, what I mean is that there’s something for everyone. From minorities who want to see there stories come alive, to people who want to read an epic comic book to escape from the real world, to people who need inspiration to change the world for the better. Gabi also lets the local community self publish and sell their own comics in her store. One person I talked to said “the process to get your own independent comic in their shop is very quick and painless! The nicest people ever and the most helpful! I’m about to actually go in there today to drop off the copies of my comic!” I think it’s incredible that there are so many different levels to which Gabi goes above and beyond to include the people who support her.

While most of downstairs are various products people can buy, I think the best place is upstairs. While I only went upstairs for the first time a couple months ago, it quickly made me love the store even more. Sure products can provide escapism for people, or give them something to share with the people they love – the upstairs gives people the real experience of community. Upstairs people can play their own games, compete in competitions, try out new games, or let people they’ve never met before. It truly shows what Gabi’s is all about which is making sure people never feel left out, and that people always have a safe place to hangout.

While upstairs is awesome, all of Gabi’s is truly my favorite. There’s always something that anyone can find that makes their day just a little bit better, whether that’s a new board game, the perfect card for their deck, the next issue of their favorite comic, or a statue of their favorite character. That being said, there’s also the sense of belonging. While at school, work, or even home (sadly) you may feel like you don’t belong, however, when you’re at Gabi’s you can look around and see all the people who are just like you, and who knows you may even make a life long friend, a new play group, or even just a safe, quiet place to exist.

Never a Dull Moment in the Store

Events

As I mentioned, it can get pretty loud in the store sometimes, but it’s always filled with laughter and people having fun. Gabi’s runs tons of events weekly from prerelease events, to tournaments, to chess club. Even if you’re not into structured events like prerelease or tournaments, there’s also open play for so many games from TCGs, to DnD, to just regular board games. You can also try out new games every first Tuesday of the month, with game night demos, where you even get a discount on the game if you buy it at a later date.

One person I talked to said “I’ve been playing dungeons and dragons for 20 years and have never found a store to be as welcoming, friendly and unassuming as Gabi’s. As a woman in gaming, the community can feel kind of toxic, showboaty, one-upping — and I’ve never once had that experience with this store. Every time I enter that space I’m met with kind people who provide such thoughtful and funny recommendations, I always leave having spent way more than intended because I’m genuinely excited to get home and play. Happy to help with the story however you need!” I love that Gabi and her staff facilitate a safe place for all people, in a hobby that sadly isn’t always the most inclusive. I see people online talk about all the time how they don’t feel welcomed because of one reason or another, yet when I reached out to people, no one had anything negative to say, and they only boasted about how kind, inclusive, and welcoming Gabi’s is.

Like a lot of other comic book stores, she also takes part in free comic book day which happens every year on the first Saturday in May. During free comic book day, she usually runs sales all weekend long on other products like board games, paints, minis, and so much more. She also does a sale around Thanksgiving which is always a very busy time for her and the store. While Free Comic Book Day and the sale in November are her biggest sales of the year, she occasionally has 1 day only or flash sales through the year, which you can only find out about by following her on Instagram or Facebook.

Fundraisers

As I mentioned, Gabi’s Kids started out by Gabi deciding to be a location for food donations, and since then Gabi has always held fundraisers when she can. Just earlier this month, she held a pet food drive where people could donate food, toys, and treats for pets, and all donations went to Concern for Animals.

In 2014, she ran a fundraising event for American Cancer Society, by hosting the Warhammer for life event. This wasn’t the only time she raised money for cancer, in 2015, she held a pirate Fundraiser for a little boy named Ethan who lost his battle against DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) a rare form of brain cancer. At this fundraising event, people played games, could win prizes, and were even encouraged to wear pirate costumes. People who donated, where able to help Ethan’s family and also foundations like The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and The Cure Starts Now Foundations which are working on a cure. She has also taken part in the Extra Life fundraiser countless times over the years.

For three years between 2016 and 2018 she also put on A Game Night To Remember. This event was a 24 hour game night for Alzheimer’s. A Game Night To Remember was created by Catherine “CJ” Pearce after her dad passed from Alzheimer’s at only 61 years-old. People play games for hours, brought things in to donated, and paid for raffle tickets to win prizes. In 2018 they crushed their goal, and raised over $10,000.

In 2019, she shut down the store early for Veterans Day for vets to come hangout and play games. She also put on a fundraiser for JBLM to raise money to go do a ruckmarch to bring awareness to a specific part of the Trail of Tears.

In 2020, she also raised $1,800 for the Onalaska Equity Anti-Racism Book Fundraiser. This allowed over 160 copies of the book “March” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, which went to Onalaska High School.

Just a few months ago, Gabi’s very own Commander community, helped raise over $3500 for Gabi’s Kids Social Purpose Charity. All of this money went to make meals, get shoes, jackets, and other items for anyone who needs help in our community.

Each year Gabi also puts on a Gabi’s Kids Holiday Event where people can donated meals for the holiday, warm clothes, and toys for kids. Parents are able to sign up for the event to ensure their kids (even all the way into high school) can get something they want, need, something to wear, and something to read. I love that she includes the reading part in there, because it facilitates the habit of reading and wanting to learn. If you want to help, you can either donate or you can adopt a child or even a whole family. Each year Gabi helps over 2000 kids, which is just incredible to me.

Also with statistics that talk about how a lot of kids only get their one and only meal for the day at school, the summer can be hard a lot of people. Gabi does her best to offer free lunches through Gabi’s Kids and even offers hot meals from 11am-12pm Monday-Friday.

Even though this isn’t remotely everything that Gabi has done in the last 20 years, I always look forward to the next thing she’s helping out with. One of my favorite things is she also constantly shared other small business fundraisers, and is constantly invested in the community, even if it doesn’t have anything to with her store. She also shouts out business from all over town like the library, theaters, restaurants really anything and everything she believes in.

Achievements For Her and Her Store

• While I know Gabi doesn’t love to talk about herself, I wanted to shed some light on her own personal accomplishments, as is the store and her community work isn’t enough.
• In 2015 and 2016, Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics was selected BEST Comic Shop by the voters of Western Washington in Best of Western Washington contest.
• In 2018, Gabi won the WYCA Olympia Womxn of Achievement.
• In 2019. she also won small business of the year.

Overall

While I know this post is long, I just want to reiterate for probably the 100th time, that Gabi and her staff are truly amazing. From being a safe and inclusive place for all ages, to providing meals and clothes to people in need, to just being an awesome person, Gabi is one of the most well known, and well liked people in the area. People all over Washington know who she is, even when I go to conventions in Tacoma or even Seattle, people from all over talk about how much they love her and her store. One person I talked to said “I love this place, and I’m not even from Washington. Gabi was so nice when we went there.” I love how far her reputation reaches.

I just want to thank Gabi once more for allowing me to interview her and to put this post together.

If you want to visit Gabi for yourself you can find her at 4230 Pacific Ave SE, Lacey, WA 98503, there’s even a bus right out front.

You can also find her at:

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💕A Little Surprise for Gabi 💕

While writing this post, I have done so much research into Gabi and her store, however, after talking about how much of a pillar Gabi is for this community, I wanted to share quotes from people in the community! (Although some people didn’t mind, I’ve decided to keep them all anonymous.)

Gabi’s Incredible Memory

“I am disabled and have a disabled partner. We have two children. Some years, the holidays would not have happened for us but for Gabi and what she does. Times when we wouldn’t have eaten, save for the service she does our community. On two separate occasions she has remembered my daughter by name, and we’ve only been in half a dozen or so times.”

“Gabi is so attentive to her customers. I used a cane once while visiting before the elevator was put in, and she saw me months later and eagerly let me know about the elevator for the next time I use my cane. I felt completely seen and in a world where I don’t feel accommodated at times, Gabi made sure to let me know I was.”

“My wife and I really struggled to maintain a community in our early twenties. We’re both socially anxious and introverted and had just moved down from Seattle where we also didn’t have much community. When we were getting married, ten years ago, we couldn’t afford anything like a traditional venue and had no one to invite anyway. We went to Gabi and asked her if we could get married there. It was the closest thing either of us had to a church and the people around were familiar faces if not friends. Gabi was and is so sweet and kind and asks us how we’re doing every time we come in. We spent a lot of time there with our niece when she was little and Gabi also asks how she’s doing even when she’s not there.”

Always a Place at Gabi’s

“Not only is Gabi a sweetheart and a joy, her staff is also amazing. Growing up all the comic and card shops I went to felt so misogynistic and judgmental, but when I moved up here and went to this store for the first time I was shocked at how kind all the staff was. On top of that, there are always new games to want there and new comics. If they do not have something in they will often offer to order it for you. Also this is one of the only places you can buy pokemon cards for MSRP (or even at all) as many other places do not limit buyers or some even charge scalpers prices (like Gamestop). Gabi’s is such an amazing place and Gabi herself is a wonderful person and a pillar of the community!”

“I love Gabis! My last visit there was a creep following me and asking inappropriate questions. One of the employees clocked him and coordinated with another to get me away from him (they claimed they found the manga I had been searching for), made sure I was ok, got a quick rundown of my experience with him and banned the guy from the premises. It was done really quickly and efficiently too! I feel very safe at Gabis.”

“I really enjoy Gabi’s. It’s one of the best local game stores I know of and I’ve lived in many different states. I also have a disability and I am invited to join for games and informed about game nights every time I talk to Gabi. She is so welcoming accepting, and friendly.”

“The place seems to always be poppin with people or events. All her employees are helpful and very personable. And most importantly the store plus her are very LGBT+ friendly. Def a safe place for all.”

Generations of Fun

“I have been visiting Gabi’s for a few shops ago. Last shop was the same time I had my first kid. I remember being back from the hospital, depression setting in and a baby. I handed Gabi my first born and looked at comic books. This women gave me such kindness, such support. My eldest is 18, my second is 16. Gabi has been a pillar in both their lives. I am so grateful she has been part of my life.”

“There are plenty of teenagers who hung out at her store after school, who grew up, had kids, and now bring those kids to the store.”

“I’ve been going to her shop for 25 years now. Gabi and OCC are an absolute treasure”

A Pillar of Community

“Gabi’s is the best! I’m so utterly not shocked that they do this. Gabi and her store are a huge pillar of the local community.”

“Gabi is amazing, her business is a pillar. Our community is that much better because of what she does. Spend 5 minutes with her and it is clear as day. She and her staff are awesome.”

“15 years ago or so, give or take, I got in some pretty serious trouble at school. Nobody got hurt, everything turned out okay in the end, but I got suspended for the last two weeks of school. My mom (RIP) talked to Gabi, and they worked something out. My “consequence” was to spend a few weeks that summer volunteering at OC&C. I mostly just vacuumed the front of the store, scrubbed grout in the bathrooms, and organized magic cards, it was very gentle. But that is a core memory for me. Taught me the value of work, and real accountability. I really value that memory and that time in my life. Very few communities are lucky enough to claim a person like Gabi. And that’s what she is – an absolute pillar of the community. She has been a brilliant beacon and a paragon in Olympia/Lacey for my entire life. She has provided refuge and safety to generations at this point. Her work with kids has been critical, and is so valued. Really, words are insufficient to explain how important Gabi is. And shout out to Paul, too. The older gentleman with the cool hair. I hope he still works there. That guy was awesome.”

“My whole family loves Gabi’s. She’s got the best employees as well. The whole place has such a welcoming atmosphere and vibe due to the folks that work there.”

Loved By So Many – Near and Far

“I’ve never been into gaming or comics but this makes me want to come in just to meet her. I’m glad the community has someone they adore this much.”

“Gabi is hands down one of the best people on this planet. She’s one of the reasons I still have hope for humanity as a species in general.”

“The world needs more Gabis. She is amazing.”

“Gabi’s is a local treasure of community involvement ❤️”

“Gabi is the rare, generational person that builds a society around themselves, not just a community. A truly safe space too. What a wonderful human”

“Gabi is one of the best people around, I give her as much business as I can and try to make it in once every week or two. She does more for our community than almost anyone else and is always excited to see everyone.”

“I don’t have any personal stories but Gabi is an absolute angel. The things she has done for her community is absolutely inspiring. WE LOVE YOU, GABI!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!”

“Gabi is such a great person for the community, she cares about her employees and her customers. 10/10 I’d spend my money there before ordering online.”

“Gabi is the perfect example of a business owner caring about the community and the wellbeing of people in that community over profit.”

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Links To Other Interviews: