O U R    S T O R Y

Dungeon’s Gate Owners Rob and Melissa McAllister met in Show Choir at California High School, in California, Missouri, and were high school sweethearts. Rob holds a degree in Computer Science and an MBA degree from the University of Missouri and is a former web developer and executive. Melissa holds a degree in Political Science and a Law degree from the University of Missouri and is a former attorney for the Juvenile Officer. Melissa and Rob have been married for thirty-three years and are the parents of a son and a daughter. Olive joined the McAllister family in late December 2019. 

Rob and Melissa were semi-retired in 2019, when Rob said, “let’s open a web store.” Later in 2019, Rob said, “looks like we need a small brick and mortar to have access to WOTC products.” Then, “I think we should add science fiction and fantasy books.” And the rest is history…

Dungeon’s Gate’s grand opening was set for March 13, 2020, at our original location, 301 NE Trilein, in Ankeny, Iowa. As everything shut down on March 13, 2020, our grand opening was delayed. After opening by appointment only for several months, Dungeon’s Gate opened on July 27, 2020, with pandemic safety precautions in place. Back then, we had “Sundays with Olive” and Olive chilled at the store during our limited Sunday hours. On August 3, 2021, Dungeon’s Gate expanded to open at our current location, 2525 N Ankeny Boulevard, Suite 101, in Ankeny, Iowa. 

 

In August 2025, Dungeon’s Gate celebrated 5 Years of Playing Games, Reading Books, and Having Fun!