The owner of a popular gaming store in Newmarket was shocked to see the glass door of his business smashed into pieces when he arrived this morning.
Kris Fekete, owner of Enter the Battlefield, said he was still trying to process the break-in that occurred overnight and the loss of valuable trading cards.
"I’m trying to figure it out, it’s shocking,” said Fekete.
He watched security footage that showed a suspect smashing the door of his store in a plaza at 81 Davis Dr. at 2:28 a.m., roaming around the store, and breaking into the showcase for rare and valuable cards.
Fekete hasn’t been able to complete an inventory to see exactly which cards were stolen, but said the value of the rare cards is about $100,000 in total.
He called York Regional Police to report the break-in at 11 a.m. and he and his staff were still waiting for officers to arrive at 1:30 p.m. He was only told to not go inside the premise and not touch anything.
“For two hours, we’re sitting here staring at our broken door and can’t even assess what someone did to us,” said Fekete. “It’s a little frustrating.”
His business is a popular hangout for gamers and collectors of cards like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and Warhammer cards.
He has been receiving texts from regular clients expressing their concern about the break-in.
“We have a huge community of people who come here and hang out and it’s kind of like a home invasion,” said Fekete. “About 90 per cent of our store space is for people to hang out and play.”
He plans to reopen as soon as the door is replaced the door.
He said he has asked the landlord on several occasions to have lights outside that could deter people from breaking into businesses at night.
