A decade after the first wave of board game cafes largely closed or consolidated, a second generation is opening in the same cities, often within blocks of where the originals used to be.
Owners of the new wave say they learned from the first one's mistakes — smaller libraries, curated rather than exhaustive, and a much heavier focus on food and drink margins rather than treating the games themselves as the primary revenue source.
A format that needed a second try
Regulars describe the appeal less in terms of the games themselves and more in terms of the room: a place to sit for three hours without being expected to order every twenty minutes, which most cafes and bars don't tolerate.
Owners are cautiously optimistic but aware the first wave looked just as promising early on. Their bet is that treating the games as a draw, not the business itself, is what will let this version last longer than the first.