I'm thinking about calling up the local comic shop I used to game at and ask them if they'd mind me borrowing one of their tables a few hours out of the week to play random people in pickup games of X-Wing, maybe MTG, or mini-instances or two of D&D.

This is a GREAT idea. Do it! Friends of mine did this at a local coffee shop here in Seattle (Uptown Espresso on Delridge), and it really took off.

The coffee shop wound up doing a complete renovation, and now the walls are just bookshelves lined with board games, and they installed large gaming tables. There is a "Game Concierge" on hand, who is a volunteer who can help people find a game they might like, teach people how to play different games, etc. It is amazingly cool, and has turned this little coffee shop in a "depressed area" into a hub of activity every day of the week.

And now my friend Ashley is building a new pub that is based entirely around catering to the gaming community! It will be called, of course, Ashley's Pub: http://www.ashleys.pub/

Gamers are good people, and they have money to spend. Businesses that make room for this type of engaged activity are going to win, business-wise.