Celebrating 20 Years of Canton Games

A Letter from Our Founder

Twenty years ago, my wife Candy and I opened Canton Games in a small storefront with a simple idea: create a welcoming neighborhood place where people could discover games, meet others, and have fun. At the time, many people in the community were not familiar with the types of games and products we carried, so building the business involved a great deal of trial and error. We tried different products, events, and ways of using the limited space, learning along the way what people enjoyed and what would bring them back.

The store changed as we learned and as more and more people became aware of us. We also looked for small ways to help, including accepting package deliveries for people in the community so they would not have to worry about missing them while they were at work. Some of our most meaningful memories from that time are of Candy working in the store with our young children, first as babies in strollers and later as toddlers exploring the shop. Slowly, the business became part of the fabric of the community and our lives.

Dan Hoffman joined us later as an employee and quickly demonstrated that he understood what made the store special. He became our manager and eventually the person we trusted to carry Canton Games forward when our family moved away from Baltimore. We gave the store to Dan because we believed in him and wanted the business to remain in the hands of someone who cared deeply about it, its customers, and its place in the community.

That trust has been rewarded many times over. Dan has not simply kept the doors open. He has devoted years of work, creativity, patience, and personal commitment to making the store his own while preserving the spirit on which it was founded.

Reaching a 20th anniversary is an extraordinary accomplishment for any small business, especially an independent neighborhood store. Dan deserves enormous credit for his leadership, resilience, and dedication, and for continuing to adapt the store to changing interests, products, customers, and economic realities.

We are deeply proud of what Canton Games has become under Dan’s ownership and grateful that its legacy has been carried forward with such care. We also want to thank the Canton community and every customer, employee, friend, and family member who supported the store over the years. You helped turn a small experiment into a lasting neighborhood institution.

It gives Candy and me tremendous pride and satisfaction to see Canton Games continue to succeed and thrive. 

Here’s to the next 20 years of games, community, and good times at Canton Games!

Brian, Candy and the Rosenberg Family