The Attic, an arcade and social club in downtown Baker City, has closed. The Attic opened in October 2021.

After nearly three years of hosting video game tournaments and birthday parties, The Attic arcade and social club in downtown Baker City is closing and will be selling its inventory.

The Attic, which opened in October 2021 above Kicks Sportswear at the corner of Valley Avenue and Main Street, announced on its Facebook page that Aug. 24 was the “last regular day.”

The club will be permanently shut down at the end of September.

Maddox Baldwin, who heads The Attic, said he decided in early August that the club couldn’t continue.

“It took me months to come to terms with it, but I’ve come to accept it,” Baldwin, 19, said. “I still don’t feel good about it.”

The Attic’s Facebook post said the inventory will be sold, including furniture, televisions, video game consoles and games and board games.

The money will be used to pay off fees and fix up the historic building they’re leasing. Any money left over will be donated to Safe Families for Children, a nonprofit social services organization.

The Attic had struggles for some time, said Baldwin, who has been operating the club since September 2023.

A lack of volunteers and customers is one challenge, and Baldwin said running The Attic hasn’t always lined up with his personal schedule.

“I have a lot of passion left for it, but just need to focus on a lot of other stuff right now,” Baldwin said.

He said that when he announced the pending closure to the volunteers, he recalls that they didn’t seem too surprised.

“The last few months have been really hard on us,” Baldwin said.

The social club saw a lack of clientele in June, next to none in July and the issue became even worse in August, Baldwin said.

Two people helping Baldwin run the business, his secretary and treasurer, had to step down in late May for personal reasons.

“We did have new volunteers coming in,” Baldwin said. “But none wanted to do all the legal mumbo jumbo going through paperwork.”

Baldwin said he received several personal messages from customers upset about The Attic closing.

He said he didn’t realize the effect the club had on people until reading those messages.

“I believe that I became a better person from volunteering,” Baldwin said. “I wouldn’t have become anywhere close to where I am now in terms of sincerity and maturity.”