Heart of New Mexico: Empire Board Games celebrates a decade of business  

He always wanted to build a place to build community. 

“I love bringing people in,” said Rory Veronda, owner of Empire Board Game Library. “I also wanted to do a business that didn’t deal in alcohol or was a restaurant.” 

Veronda has experience in both. He formerly owned and operated a nightclub. 

“That was my jam in those years,” he said. 

Now the 55-year-old is happy to have turned back to his interests that pre-dated the nightlife party scene. 

“I definitely played Dungeons and Dragons to start out with, during the ‘Satanic Panic’ phase of that game,” said Veronda. “It was just a bunch of nerdy kids playing games.” 

This year, Empire Board Game Library is celebrating 10 years in business. They’ve accomplished a decade in business by catering to a wide variety of complex board-game-seekers, to UNM students, date-nights, and a community of gamers that keep coming back. However, keeping his business open for the last decade has not been easy. 

“The ART project was worse than the pandemic, in many ways,” said Veronda. “In the pandemic, there was a lot of grant money being passed around.” 

The traits needed to run a business are similar to the traits his manager, Tres Williams, sees in a successful board game player. 

“Patience, an analytical mind,” said Williams. “Keeping cool under pressure.” 

Williams puts on events like the one promoting the 10-year anniversary with a three-day convention. He has memorized the rules to over 100 board games and said the winners are often, “Able to quickly recognize what you need to do. Seeing what goal, you’re trying to go for, and how to get there.” 

Not so different from running a business in Nob Hill. 

“I just don’t see Empire going anywhere,” said Veronda on his plans. 

The corner store is now a cornerstone in a part of town that often seems different businesses come and go. 

“Whether I’m here, or not, I think Empire will survive,” said Veronda.