Borderlands Games, a staple for Salem gamers for 23 years, closed last month after its owners faced medical and financial issues.

They owed $30,000 for the building's lease, which was poised to default, and approximately $5,000 for employee payroll, according to a November post on the company's official page.

The business, at 546 High St. NE, sold board games, trading card games and comic books.

In October, a Borderlands employee filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, claiming they hadn't been paid from Sept. 3 to Oct. 5. A second worker also filed a wage complaint.

"We have been working closely with our employees to resolve this," Camille Jones, one of the owners, told the Statesman Journal.

One of the complainants, former employee Rafael Valdez, said he worked for the business on and off for 14 years and has yet to be contacted by owners about the payroll.

"Due to the health issues that our family is dealing with personally and with other close family members, finances became a major issue, and is the key reason we had to close," Jones said. "We never intended to cause hardships for anyone."

BOLI spokeswoman Christine Lewis said that both complaints for compensation remain under investigation.

In social media posts and a GoFundMe campaign, owners Camille and Nate Jones documented the months preceding the shop's closure.

The Joneses opened the business a month after they married in 1995. They celebrated 20 years in 2015.

In April, however, medical issues and the loss of a key supplier prompted the family to seek $120,000 on GoFundMe to save the business.

"Over the years, we have watched you grow up with us, start families, and become a thriving gaming community," the GoFundMe campaign stated. "So many of you are now not simply patrons, but friends and family that we cherish and have deeply touched our lives."

The campaign asked contributors for a lifeline. "We have so many things that we still want to share with you," it stated.

The campaign, however, raised only $3,745.

On Nov. 22, Nate posted on Facebook that liquidations would begin the following day.

He wrote: "Building Borderlands and our gaming community has been an incredible journey we're grateful to have had.

"It is sad to end it here, this way, but hey what can you do," he wrote. "Please keep on gaming, have fond memories of us and hopefully things get better for Camille and I soon so we can play with everyone again."

Camille later wrote on the company's Facebook page that Nov. 23, would be the store's last day.

Camille told the Statesman Journal she and her husband want the shop "remembered as a place of community; a place where people could come and play games with friends, and make new ones; a place where they bring their kids and play old favorites and find new games."

"We saw many kids grow up in our store and then bring in their new families," she said.

Email jbach@statesmanjournal.com, call (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter @jonathanmbach.

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