Evanston resident Drew Beckmann used to start his Mondays at 5 a.m. with a flight out of state from O’Hare International Airport for his job in the tech industry. After three decades in that career, he said he’d had enough. 

“I told myself, ‘I’m not flying out every week to deal with some client halfway around the world,’” Beckmann said. “Why not build something here, for this community?”

Beckmann first opened the comic book and tabletop games shop Heroines & Heroes in Wilmette in early 2021. He said the business was born from a realization he had during the pandemic that families were desperate to reduce their kids’ screen times and looking for healthier ways to consume media.

In mid-2024, the business moved from an 800-square-foot storefront in Wilmette to its current 3,800-square-foot space at 2026 Central St.

“My wife’s a teacher,” he said. “Parents were asking her how to get their kids off Netflix and video games. She’d say, ‘Talk to my husband. He knows all about hobby stuff.’ From there, the idea took root.”

Heroines & Heroes’ success stands out in a challenging landscape for small businesses. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 22% of private sector businesses in the U.S. fail within the first year, and nearly 50% falter by their fifth year. However, this comic book and game store is going the distance with its fourth year in operation. 

The store sells everything from Pokemon booster packs to niche tabletop roleplay games. Beckmann said kids pile in after school every day to buy chips and sodas with their allowance and hang out by the tables located at the back of the store.

With an emphasis on hosting events, Heroines & Heroes became more than just a shop — it’s an experience.

“We’re an entertainment business,” Beckmann said. “We just happen to sell physical products. With the bigger space, we’ve had the most payoff from the events we host throughout the week.”

Weekly Dungeons & Dragons sessions, Magic: The Gathering tournaments, homeschool student meetups and other events with local groups fill the calendar. The store’s middle school D&D mailing list includes 140 families, although the store can only accommodate about 60 players over the span of a typical school quarter.

Farley Center Prof. Eduardo Acuna said Heroines & Heroes demonstrates the staying power of small businesses that adapt through community-first models rather than competitive pricing. 

“You have to sell a sense of community,” Acuna said. “You have to sell that feeling that someone gets when they support the owner they know face-to-face. You have to sell them experience. That’s what keeps people coming back.”

This community-based approach has paid off. Since relocating to Evanston, Beckmann said the store has tripled its customer base and increased revenue by about 115%. It averages about 5,000 transactions a month and sees 700 customers weekly, he added. 

However, a recent HSBC survey found that more than 70% of U.S. small and mid-sized businesses are facing higher costs due to tariffs. This has pushed some board game costs up by 40%, according to Beckmann. Despite this, he hasn’t raised prices.

“I’m trying to hold off on raising prices for now,” Beckmann said. “We’re pretty consistent besides a usual spike (in cash flow) around the holidays.”

At the heart of Heroines & Heroes’ business model are the employees. The team includes about seven core staff members working 30 to 36 hours a week, along with contracted accounting professionals. 

Instead of hiring employees for their pop culture expertise, Beckmann said he hires for personality and the ability to talk to customers.

According to Beckmann, another aspect of the store’s growth is successful advertising. His son Alex Beckmann is the shop’s social media manager. 

“I do blog posts for our products and events, and basically community engagement,” Alex Beckmann said. “I put content out there and give people a reason to feel included.”

Drew Beckmann’s longtime friend and business partner Vernon Wiley, a comics industry veteran, handles the graphic novels and periodicals. 

For 22 years, Wiley ran The Comix Gallery in Wilmette. Now, he helps guide Heroines & Heroes with comprehensive comics knowledge and customer insight.

“My role here is to make sure people have a good selection of good-quality material and that their experience in the shop is very positive and pleasant,” Wiley said. “After shutting down Comix Gallery (in 2018), teaming up with Drew (Beckmann) gave me a chance to keep doing what I love.”

Both Drew Beckmann and Wiley said they are proud of the multigenerational loyalty they’ve built. Wiley said he often meets grown adults who remember him from Comix Gallery decades ago.

“I’ve been around long enough now to have customers bring their kids in,” Wiley said. “It’s rare that a month goes by that someone doesn’t walk in and say, ‘Are you Vern? I used to buy Pokemon at your store when I was five.’”

This loyal customer base is evident in who’s browsing the aisles. Henry Daugherity, an incoming freshman at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said he first discovered Heroines & Heroes at their previous Wilmette location, but that the new location is “great” because it has “a lot more neat stuff.”

According to Drew Beckmann, the store’s biggest competitors aren’t other comic shops or online stores, but rather “digital entertainment, video games (and) streaming.” Things he said you “don’t have to get off your couch to do.”

“What we offer is connection,” Beckmann said. “And I think that’s what people are really looking for.”

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