I am curious whether any folks around here might have access to, or be able to point me to a place where I might get access to, lists of active hobby/gaming stores. It seems like this would be the sort of resource that would be useful to small publishers - and for that matter to hobby stores interested in improved margins.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

I had been considering asking such a question myself in about a year.  I was going to at least start the process by using the Indie Press Revolution retail stores list.

http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/retailers.php

Best of luck!

A great place to start is GAMA. It's the game manufacturers association, but it also includes a lot of distributors as well.

Also, some game manufacturers will list all of the distributors who carry their products. You need to check a few websites and eventually you will hit pay dirt.

Lastly, you can call various game stores and ask who their distributor is and if they have a phone number (think yellow pages).

Hope it helps.

Here's the Wizards of the Coast map + contact info for the stores that carry Dungeons & Dragons. Probably a good place to start.

WotC D&D Retailers

You might also check with GAMA.