Well...
It turns out that Dave and I have decided to go ahead with the game store. We determined that we really want to do this, so John being too scared to be part of a small business loan in the name of an LLC will not be a good reason to give up on this. We have gone forward and contacted several game companies and so far we have decided to carry Games Workshop, Wizards of the Coast, probably a few White Wolf, and another miniatures company called Old Glory. I'm sure there will be more, but we haven't gotten that far. Any recommendations are welcome.