Avalon Cafe to bring unique gaming, dining experience to Holyoke

Feb. 26, 2020 | Danielle Eaton
daniellee@thereminder.com

HOLYOKE –  A unique cafe featuring board games, food and drinks that aims to provide a place where all are welcome, no matter what your interests are, is coming to the city of Holyoke.

Melissa Lewis-Gentry and Neal Robinson, two of Avalon’s owners who serve as the primary operators of the business, told Reminder Publishing the cafe has been in the works for a while. Lewis-Gentry, former manager of Modern Myth Comics in Northampton, said this is something she’s wanted to do for more than 10 years.

“This is my brainchild, I have been wanting to open something like this for at least a decade,” she explained.

Robinson, who used to work at The Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, said Lewis-Gentry first told him about her idea years ago. He said initially he wanted to find a space in Northampton for the cafe, but it didn’t work out. Years later, she approached him again, this time with a plan.

“She approached me once she developed the idea, had a space lined up, investors lined up, and a business plan,” Robinson said.  

He said his knowledge of the entertainment industry paired with his love of games made him excited about the idea of a game cafe.

“I spent most of my professional life in the entertainment venue, I understand that world, the economics of that world,” he shared. “The idea of combining that space with something else I love – games – was kind of exciting to me.” He said their vision for the cafe is “where people come together and interact without screens,” and emphasized the importance of play for both children, and adults.

“As you grow into adulthood, you’re taught to leave childish things, all those things that make life worth living. As an African-American growing up, we’re taught from an early age that this is the world we live in and that games were seen as something you can’t afford to engage in play, you have to take everything so seriously,” he explained. “But you miss something crucial, because that’s how you learn. It’s very important, adults learn by play too.”
Robinson said some of the skills learned through play by both adults and children include problem solving, social skills and interpersonal skills.

Lewis-Gentry echoed this and stated, there is “tons of material talking about role playing games and Dungeon and Dragons, [how it] helps develop math and social skills. It is really, really good for kids.”

They plan to emphasize play in children in the community by hosting an after-school  program at the cafe once it opens. Lewis-Gentry said the cafe would host a weekly session where “kids ages eight to 12, they would play Dungeons and Dragons for two hours.”

She said a paid member of Avalon’s staff who will be “highly vetted, [and] passed background checks” would be in charge of leading the sessions. “We would have a person here, paid on staff to run and lead a group of about five to six kids in developing characters and playing the game,” she explained.

She said the after-school program would not be launching immediately after Avalon opens as they “want to make sure operations are secure.” However, she wants to run a summer program that would have a similar structure to the after-school program. And while the program would have a fee, Lewis-Gentry said she’s “trying to make it affordable,” but needs “to make sure teachers are paid for their time.” She also emphasized the cafe is “not equipped for a program for kids under the age of eight,” as the majority of games are not targeted towards that age group.

In addition to a multitude of games, the cafe will also offer a variety of food and drinks. Robinson described the food as “an American eclectic idea” that involves making most things from scratch. “We’re going to grind our own meat, bake our bread, pastries, desserts, our own sauces, fries are all going to be fresh cut,” he said. Robinson emphasized that ingredients and items that can’t be made from scratch will all be “locally sourced as much as possible.” Robinson described it as “comfort food, if you will, at a higher quality.”

As for their collection of games, Lewis-Gentry said it will be vast, and always changing and expanding as games are bought and sold secondhand through the cafe. “I brought my own personal library [of games.] We started with about 150 games from me, individual people as well as some publishers have donated some games as well,” she stated. Lewis-Gentry said  GreenBrier Games in Worcester and Killjoy Games in New Haven, CT  both donated games to Avalon. She added that the Knight Moves Cafe, a Boston-based game cafe, “has been nothing but supportive.” In total, she said when Avalon opens she’s expecting they’ll have around 700 games in total.

In addition to games being donated, Lewis-Gentry said she has been “actively purchasing games,” and “will be actively buying” secondhand games, Magic cards and miniatures when the cafe opens. Games will be able to be sold for cash or store credit, but stressed people should make an appointment with her beforehand if they’re planning to sell items at Avalon. Additionally, Avalon will offer customers the chance to purchase games secondhand.

While no official opening date has been set, Lewis-Gentry said the end is in sight. “Right now we have launched an investment campaign to get the final funding we needed,” she explained. After the final funding is acquired, she said it will take four to six weeks to open. Those interested in investing in the cafe can do so at https://mainvest.com/businesses/avalon-lounge-and-game-cafe.

Lewis-Gentry said the “level of support and interested has been exponential and humbling.” She said she initially had fears that people wouldn’t be receptive to the idea of a game cafe, but has since been proven wrong. “I have honestly been shocked at the warm reception we’ve gotten. The Chamber of Commerce has been reaching out and welcoming, every city official I’ve communicated with has been excited,” she said.

Avalon Game Cafe will be located in the Wauregan Building on 386 Dwight St. More information can be found on http://avalongamecafe.com.

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