Computer Cave co-owners Shane Lacks, left, and Andy Kimberlin. (BizSense file)
A local computer repair shop is booting up another out-of-town expansion.
Shockoe Bottom-based Computer Cave recently inked a lease for a shop at the Central Park shopping center in Fredericksburg.
The upcoming location, at 1255 Carl D Silver Parkway, follows Computer Cave’s expansion into Charlottesville last year.
The company is making its push into Fredericksburg to capitalize on what it considers a dearth of electronics repair shops in the area and to serve as a new node in a regional retail footprint, co-owner Shane Lacks said.
“What we’re shooting for is basically creating a triangle around central Virginia to have convenient locations for the different markets,” he said. “Fredericksburg is definitely an underserved market. They need more computer, phone, game-console repair companies out there.”
Computer Cave is planning to open the new shop in late September. Lacks said the company will staff up the store quickly, with two full-time employees at first, and then up to four more people within six months.
“That way we can have a fully staffed store that’s going to be able to knock repairs out quickly for our customers. When somebody needs their (device) repaired, they need it yesterday, not tomorrow,” he said.
The new shop comes as the company plans to launch a new division called Computer Cave Gaming, which will be dedicated to building and selling computers optimized for playing video games.
Building custom gaming rigs is popular among video game enthusiasts, and the idea is that the company would offer a similar but simplified process by ordering motherboards, graphics cards and other components used to assemble the computers to be sold, co-owner Andy Kimberlin said.
“We go ahead and we take care of part selections. We assemble those. We configure them after we install the operating systems, and that way you get a fully ready-to-go, out-of-the-box turnkey gaming desktop,” Kimberlin said.
Computer Cave is launching a new division of the company that will be dedicated to building gaming computers. (Courtesy Computer Cave)
While Computer Cave already sells prebuilt and customized gaming setups as part of its business, the new division would up the ante by establishing a formal new division that would eventually have dedicated staff and warehouse space. In doing so, existing employees can focus on repair jobs, Kimberlin said.
“What we’re doing is we’re taking the load off of our existing teams in the brick-and-mortar stores to free them up so that they’ve got better availability to complete those repairs,” he said.
The company is on the hunt for a warehouse space under 5,000 square feet to support the new service, which is set to launch next month. Lacks and Kimberlin said they hope to lock down a space before the end of the year.
They said Computer Cave sees its growing brick-and-mortar presence as key to the new emphasis on prebuilt gaming setups. The stores act as showrooms and repair locations that allow customers to avoid the hassle of shipping computers for repairs, which can be pricey and result in damage to the machine.
“You may have to pay the shipping costs yourself, which on a 4-foot-by-4-foot box that weighs 50 pounds can be very expensive,” Kimberlin said. “There’s a lot of risk in making sure that once the prebuilder makes the device, it gets to your door in a safe condition. But when you’re adding another trip and back, it gets even more complicated.”
Computer Cave Gaming is expecting to launch with three computer models starting at $1,299. The company plans to offer five or six models in time for the holidays. Kimberlin likened the new division to a car dealership, where customers can buy cars on the lot, or order a customized vehicle.
The business is expanding as it also navigates the Trump administration’s push to impose tariffs, which have been a concern for the foreign manufacturers of the components used by Computer Cave.
“They’re actually limiting what is coming into the U.S. as of right now, due to the uncertainty about tariffs. So it’s definitely causing a pipeline disruption for us,” Lacks said.
Kimberlin said manufacturers are taking varying approaches to the shift in U.S. trade policy. Accordingly, he and Lacks have sought to broaden Computer Cave’s network of suppliers to allow it flexibility in offsetting the effects of tariffs.
“Certain companies put on a freeze and said anything that was earmarked for the United States is going to Canada or Mexico. Other manufacturers are trying to absorb some of the tariff costs, so there’s only a small price increase that we have to pass on,” Kimberlin said. “We’ve had to basically be in communication with as many manufacturers as we can to try to purchase from different sources with business models that allow for us to have enough product.”
Computer Cave opened its Richmond shop, at 11 S. 15th St., in 2019 after relocating from Ashland, where it launched a couple years prior. The Charlottesville location opened in June 2024. Kimberlin and Lacks said they anticipate opening additional stores in the markets where Computer Cave has planted its flag.
