A series of interviews with inspirational tenants from across CORE-managed properties
If you head to 42 Main Street in Freeport, right near LL Bean and Starbucks, you’ll find Realm of Legends. At first, it may feel like you’ve stepped into just another retail store. Board games, miniature games, role playing and trading card games line the shelves.
But if you peer at the cash register, you may see co-owner Colin Stacey or his wife Kathy DeGrandpre, deep in conversation with a customer. And in the space behind them in the back of the store, about ten large tables are set up for the community to come together.
“It is a retail store but it’s also a gathering space,” explains Colin. “We have these tables set up and we have a demo space where people can just grab games and play. Community is really important to both of us—we wanted to give back to our community.”
Colin and Kathy recently left their 30-year careers in the corporate world to set up Realm of Legends. Two self-professed “life-long gamers,” they wanted to sell some of the most popular games in the industry while also creating a place for the local community to converge.
The property at 42 Main Street was first acquired by CORE in partnership with Turnkey Management in 2023. CORE took over the management of seven buildings in downtown Freeport at that time, including 12 commercial spaces. Seven spaces were vacant—five have since been leased by CORE’s brokerage team.
When Colin and Kathy saw this retail space in Freeport, they got in touch with CORE’s brokerage team and opened the store by the summer. They did a soft opening for six weeks, then the grand opening in mid-September. “It has absolutely exploded since then,” says Colin smiling. “It’s been amazing. It’s surpassed our early expectations.”
The gaming world itself is booming. Trading card games such as Magic the Gathering and Pokémon have become so popular that the industry has expanded exponentially. “It’s created space for other games to kind of step up and also grow and gain traction,” Colin shares. And you’ll find many of those games for sale here.
The store also offers approximately five community events each week, including “Friday Magic” where folks can play the wildly popular trading card game Magic the Gathering about dueling wizards with one another. The previous Friday saw 25-30 people roll up for the late afternoon session.
Realm of Legends draws a diverse crowd from middle school kids to 50-year-olds. “I’m a Dad and kids are important to us in this community,” says Colin. He also stresses that you don’t need to be any good at these games to show up.
“There’s just a desire to learn,” he says of the ethos. “Everybody has their different motivations, but I don’t think you have to be good at these games to enjoy them. I’m not good at Magic; I get my butt kicked on a regular basis, but I enjoy it.”
At the end of the day, Realm of Legends is about getting off your phone and engaging with others in the community. “There’s a lot of joy watching people come in, having a good time, smiling,” says Colin. “There’s no pressure to buy anything. You’re just here playing a game, kind of escaping the outside world for a little bit.”
Learn more about Realm of Legends here.