Gamers Link is a family owned, and family operated gaming business. Opened in 2013 by Shelley Holk, and me; her oldest son Cassidy. Gaming has always been a big part of our lives as a family! It is something that brought us closer together, and nurtured our family relationship growing up, and still does to this day!
Now even a decade later my younger brother and I game together all the time! To our family, gaming is about face-to-face interaction, communication, and spending time with those you love! That is our goal for Gamers Link; to bring people together, to "Link" "Gamers" to each other everyday!
Momma's Childhood
Momma grew up in Chicago in the 70's with a blind mother, so life wasn't easy for her family, but gaming was always there. Momma spent a lot of time in the hospital as a young girl dealing with sickness. Whilst other kids were watching cartoons, she found comfort and joy in watching TV Game Shows like "Pyramid", "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares". Playing along with the people on TV, they became a large influence on her!
She used to play all sorts of classic board games like "Payday", "Aggravation", "Sorry", "Skip-Bo", "Phase 10", "Risk", "Clue", "Balderdash", "Chess","Pig Mania", "Go For Broke" and much more! She fondly remembers playing those games with my grandpa "Ted" and even her blind mother "Ma", which brought them all very close! A story I remember her telling me, was her playing poker with strangers on the trains in downtown Chicago as a child. Making friends with people on thier way to work, brightening thier daily commute! Gaming goes back in our family for multiple generations, and so does the love for linking people together through gaming!
The Sons of Gamers Link
My name is Cassidy, Growing up I was an only child til I was about 12. So, Momma is who I played games with almost exclusively! She was my best friend throughout my childhood, and it nurtured our Mother-Son relationship! She always worked 2-3 jobs, so she didn't have much time to spare. BUT SHE MADE TIME!!! She was the best mom a kid could ask for! Hard-Working, Loving, Attentive, and she was not afraid to obliterate me in a game of "Clue"! hahaha
Momma is the reason why I'm so competitive now! She taught me how to win and more importantly, how to lose! I have great memories playing "Risk" with her late night after she got home from a double shift serving tables. She would never give up Australia, and she still fights for control of Australia to this day. Some things never change!
Growing up I loved Pokemon, The TV shows, the video games, all of it! I was obsessed with "Catching them all", sadly, I never did manage to catch them all! hahaha As I got older I discovered "Magic:The Gathering", and I was hooked, 19 years later, I'm still hooked and have been playing MTG for most of my life!
My younger brother Quincey was only 4 years old when we opened the shop, so gaming is all he knows! He was in "Magic:The Gathering" tournaments at the Age of 4, he couldnt read yet so he memorized the artworks and what the cards did so he could play! Now, 12 years later, he's one of the best MTG players I know, hes a great chess player, and he's my best friend! These days he has become a staple of "Gamers Link" as we know it! The shop wouldn't be the same without him!
Wrapping it up
If you got this far, The Holk family appreciates your time for listening to our story. Gaming is not just a paycheck or a business for us, it's our way of life. To us, Gaming is more than just cards, dice or simply a game board. It's all about making friends, interacting with people, and spending time with those you love! We want to spread that love and passion and "Gamers Link" is exactly how we are doing that!
We hope that we have made an impact on the gaming space for all. Shelley, Quincey and I (Cassidy) cannot wait to see you in the shop!
Thank You So Very Much! <3
Contact Us! Call (865)-227-7557
About the Gamers Link family...
The Business
Open EVERYDAY 12pm-8pm
Gaming Since 2013
Gamers Link
Board Games, Card Games & More