One-of-a-kind gaming business opening soon in Canton

A 7,200-square-foot space designed to play board games, card-collecting games and role-playing games is on the verge of opening in Canton Township.

The Upkeep Games, whose owners take pride in offering a place for gamers to connect in person — not on their iPhones or computers — is set to open as early as late-June at 43675 Ford Road, the former site of an Advanced Auto location.

“We’re all about games that require people to connect face-to-face; we don’t do video games in here,” said Rose Savage, the co-owner of The Upkeep Games along with Christopher Walton.

“We’ll have game-playing seating for up to 100 people and we sell a wide variety of card games, board games, role-playing games and miniatures games. We’re into community-building gaming instead of sitting on your phone or in front of a computer screen.”

No. 1 goal: bring people together

Savage emphasized that the business’s priority is to bring people together, not selling merchandise.

“Anyone can drop in … you don’t have to buy anything,” Savage said. “The retail part of our business is what keeps our community-building place alive — it pays for the space.

“We take pride in being a family-oriented business. You can bring your entire family in to play games and meet new people. We have games that cater to kids as young as 2 years old, but the majority of the games are meant to be played by people 10- to 13-years-old and up.”

Savage said The Upkeep Games offers an extensive library of games people can borrow while they’re in the business.

Play for free or purchase games

They also have a vast in-store selection of brand new games for purchase — from Pokemon to Disney-related games.

“We offer around 30,000 skews, including paints that are used for miniatures,” Savage explained. “For instance, the Warhammer games come with little miniature armies and the mini-figures are gray when purchased. We even offer courses in how to paint the miniature figures.”

Savage said her and Walton have established a non-profit called The Upkeep Gives that partners with area school districts to supply games and how-to courses for students.

Canton’s Upkeep Games location is the third in southeast Michigan. A Howell location opened in 2019, two years before Walton and Savage opened an Ann Arbor location.

“We’ve been looking at opening in Canton for a couple of years now,” Savage revealed. “We figured it would be a great location for this because there were no game-playing spaces like this in Canton. The closest sites for gaming spaces are in Garden City and Livonia.”

Stoking curiosity

The business’s signage has piqued the curiosity of several people who have passed by the site.

“We keep the doors open while we’re setting everything up just in case people want to come in and learn more about what we’re about,” said employee Wayne Raylean. “We’ve probably averaged about five or six people everyday stopping in to see what we’re about.”

The beginning of The Upkeep Games is compelling.

“Christopher wanted to open a place in Howell because all of the gaming spaces had closed,” Savage said. “So he sold his vast magic collection that he had been collecting since he was a kid to help finance the launch of the first store.

“We really want to be a place for community-building and where people can stop by and meet new friends and build relationships.”

Compelling background

Savage, who lives in Milan, studied pre-med and pre-law at the University of Michigan before earning a law degree in Saint Louis.

“When Christopher started The Upkeep Games, he approached me about joining him because he knew I had knowledge in business law,” Savage said. “I still practice law, but I’m all-in on this place, too.”

To learn more about The Upkeep Games, visit its website by clicking here.

SocialHouseNews.com will provide updates on the business’s grand opening in the coming weeks.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.