Yellowknife (Sep 22/06) - Anime, D&D manga, Magic: the Gathering and Warhammer.

If those words mean anything to you then Ogre's Lair is the place for you. Open for seven years in Yellowknife, Ogre's Lair is owned and operated by James Croizier.

He realizes the store caters to a niche market, and he works at keeping his customers happy.

"You look at the malls in town, they have no seating. It's like they don't want anyone to be in there."

His store has not only seating, but drinks and snacks.

"You can come in here and not spend any money. You can try the demo games on the table. It's a hobby store, but it's always been developed around the customer."

Building a niche business isn't without its challenges, however.

"It's very wild west up here. There's no directed image development of the downtown core."

Croizier is also glad to see younger generations coming in. "It's good to see the kids, 'cause they're the ones that typically get the jobs and keep up with the hobby."

There are some that don't understand the niche market that Croizier works in, and he shrugs off their stereotypes.

"If they didn't learn about it when they were a kid, then chances are they won't get into it as an adult.

"Usually you don't see any of those people (in here). They enter the store but everything's so foreign to them that they walk back out," he said.

"It's like stepping off a plane in a foreign country and not looking around."