Since the first business plan in 2015 - which was written before the cafe had opened, the cafe has inadvertently become a haven. Predominantly helping people and giving hope to those with barriers. Being not for profit, we are not driven by sales and targets. Even with group bookings such as the inner city youth group for street kids - that visit us - we do not charge entry and give jugs of squash on the house whilst our volunteers play games with them - making them feel special and most importantly - accepted. Mental well being is our main area that we address without making it an obvious goal.
The feel of the cafe is fun with the gaming, but, the board games are the key that opens the door for our service users in a covert manner. Social connections, friendships and relationships with others help shape who we are and how we behave. They are also one of the most significant influences on health and wellbeing. The cafe is like a social club for our users. 90 % of our team have a barrier and we are run prodominently by volunteers. It is a common statement from our customers that they tell us the café has ‘saved their life’. We also try to address isolation through our weekly coffee club or just by connecting people together to play games – the gaming is like a ‘hidden therapy’.
We collect data and anecdotes from surveys completed by our customers and team to help us keep our focus. We are the biggest board game cafe on the South Coast. There is even parking all around us!
We are wheelchair accessible and also have baby changing facilities. We are available for out of hours bookings for meetings / parties etc call for more details