Board games are big business. The US market for board games topped $12 billion (with a “b”) dollars in 2023, and that’s expected to grow by around 4% annually over the next decade. Our love for board games in America spans generations and genres, and some parents with young kids today swear they’ve never been more important, offering a screen-free venue for family fun and skills building. (And hitting your brother with the Monopoly dog.)
Coffee goes great with board games, naturally, and great board game cafes can be found in cities across the United States, with Houston’s Coral Sword being just one notably specialty coffee focused leader in the space. Now today on Build-Outs we’re checking out a board game cafe in Portland, Maine, fusing two quests brilliantly: the search for a fun turn-based table game, and the hunt for delicious coffee.
The 2024 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by Ceado and Dona. The 2024 Build-outs of Coffee is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, Acaia and Ghirardelli.
As told to Sprudge by Harry Sultan.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
We are Portland, Maine’s premier board game coffee shop and bar. We sought to create a space that would be as inviting to the dedicated board game hobbyist as it is to people who are just stopping by for their morning coffee.
We have a library of 150+ games which is growing every week that we have available to play in our coffee shop, many of which we also sell. In addition to our coffee menu we have an incredible tea selection through a local tea company Little Red Cup. We are also a full bar that features a rotating selection of local Maine beers including non-alcoholic and gluten free beers on tap as well as some really incredible cocktails and mocktails.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
We worked with the incredible design-and-build team Woodhull in Portland to create a welcoming space in what used to be an office. When we finished demolition on the previous space we found tons of exposed brick that we wanted to mix in with our new designs. We wanted to keep much of the brick exposed but wound up using natural wood along some of the wall to create modular shelving for our ever-expanding game library. Blending the warmth of the wood and the industrial nature of the brick became a focal point for the project and so we wound up accentuating the buildout with wood throughout in our custom gaming tables and our incredible hand-crafted wooden bar.
It was also very important that the space feel alive and so we have plants filling our windows, our shelves, and soon will be hanging from the walls and ceilings as well. From the ground up, it was designed to be a space where anyone and everyone can feel at home and encouraged to have Another Round.
What’s your approach to coffee?
My overall approach to the coffee we serve is to brew it with the respect it deserves and quality will follow.
Everyone who works at Another Round is given a copy of the book Thanks A Thousand, which is an exploration of gratitude as shown through the author’s journey to thank everyone in the supply chain of coffee—from the barista, to the people who design the sleeves for the cups, to the farmers and so many more. Having respect for how much goes into coffee beans arriving in our store helps us treat them with the respect they deserve in this last stage of brewing them.
We also try to minimize waste as much as possible and so we use our brewed coffee grounds and our day-end espresso grinds to make coffee liqueurs and concentrates that we use in our bar.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
We’re currently using a Black Eagle Maverick from Victoria Arduino, which has been incredibly helpful in streamlining our workflow because it is gravimetric, which makes multitasking much easier.
We’re hoping to get our new Poursteady V2 within a month or so, which will allow us to introduce pour-overs to our menu I’m extremely excited about this because it will give us an opportunity to bring in a much larger selection of coffees that we wouldn’t want to serve as espresso or drip and possibly introduce some members of our community to coffees that they never would have tried otherwise.
Another piece we’re waiting on is our Bellwether Electric Coffee Roaster. It’s unlikely that we will use it to replace the incredible roasters we already work with but rather use it as an opportunity to expand our offerings. It will also give us the ability to sell beans directly to our customers for their use at home at more affordable prices, which we are extremely excited about.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
We opened on June 14th, 2024 and have been expanding our hours of operation to meet the growing demand of our community since.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
Woodhull (Architects, construction)
Tom Draper of Outer Forest Woodworking (Millwork walls, shelves, and bar)
Might & Main (Branding)
Thank you!
Thank you very much. We’re so excited to be able to get the word out about building this community.
The 2024 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by Ceado and Dona. The 2024 Build-outs of Coffee is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, Acaia and Ghirardelli.
