Comics, Games and Coffee is a Chichester & District Business Awards finalist!

We're over the moon to announce that CGC is a finalist in the Chichester & District Business Awards (Medium Independent Business of the Year category)!

CGC has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2015, with two stores, an industrial unit for online orders, 11 staff (and growing), and our newly opened city centre gaming rooms.

CGC was originally set up as a passion project to provide a missing home for comics and games in Chichester. That passion has extended into the communities formed by our customers around each of the areas we retail in including comics, trading card games, Warhammer, and board games. All of these areas have their own enthusiastic communities where like-minded people can gather, both in our online groups, and in CGC’s stores.

We offer a huge range of products under one roof. We're not just a comics and coffee shop, we sell board games, family games, strategy games, graphic novels for all ages, Warhammer, trading card games, and more. Having all of this under one roof is what makes us stand out, as do staff with wide-ranging expertise. We're well-placed to serve - and answer questions from - hobbyists of all backgrounds.

We're not just a store - we're a community. As well as having an online store, a Chichester store, and a Worthing store, we provide a space for the hobby and nerd community to gather. We have table space available for tabletop games, war games, and trading card games (TCGs) in our new Chichester Gaming Rooms. We run events almost every day of the week, and provide access to popular products for the community at release events. Many community members struggle with social anxiety or other things which may make it difficult to socialise. They often say how valuable our stores are as a place to meet others in a friendly and welcoming environment.

We are inclusive - we welcome everybody no matter what their background is, or how they identify. We recently completed an accessibility audit on our new Chichester gaming rooms and will also do so at our other locations. See our accessibility audit here: www.cgc-emporium.com/pages/cgc-accessibility-guide-chichester-gaming-rooms

Don’t just take our word for it... Here is a selection of glowing feedback from our community members  gathered during CGC’s Big Feedback Survey (2026):

“Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff who go above and beyond to build a gaming community around the stores, plus lots of space to play and a really friendly atmosphere. The wide range of available products is nice to have as well.”

“The venue has helped support a thriving local gaming community.”

“I love coming to the shop as a community space.”

Before CGC there were a few local groups operating out of community centres. While many of those still exist, we have managed to provide dedicated spaces for them, as well as the teams and drive to get more people playing games together. This has resulted in other venues joining in and providing even greater variety for both Chichester and Worthing.

The key to our success has been the provision of a third place for our customers - many we see several times a week and they can spend many hours in the shop with other people. Online stores can sell things cheaper (although we are more than competitive in many areas on pricing) but can’t provide the service or community aspects that many customers find essential to their experience in the hobby.

We do also retail online, with the comics side of the business in particular being very successful this last year. Online subscriptions are fulfilled from our warehouse unit and we have over 150,000 back issues in stock and available to purchase. This results in significant traffic from search engines for collectors trying to find that last missing comic (as well as weekly new releases)!

This is an exciting time for our Chichester team with the significant expansion of space in Chichester city centre. Gaming space in our main Chichester retail store has essentially been fully booked, constraining our ability to schedule events. But with our new dedicated gaming rooms, we can run pretty much anything people need! We have added specific tables for our warhammer community that provide the space and accessories needed for the hobby; a dedicated Dungeons and Dragons themed room for our role-playing game community; and even a Pokemon pinball machine for fans. We anticipate a doubling of event attendance in the next year, as well as a new Chichester Board Gaming Club, reading clubs, and a host of other things our enthusiastic staff want to bring to Chichester. 

We have recently recruited for both the Chichester and warehouse locations, adding two full-time and part-time roles.

We're also fast outgrowing our Worthing store due to demand for our events and hobby nights, so will be looking to expand there too - We are also always looking at other towns for suitable venues to expand into.

Thank you to our whole team and all our customers for continuing to support us every day.  Here's to 10 more years as a thriving local business!