VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We are getting a first look inside the first board game café in Hampton Roads.
Roll With It Board Game Cafe & Bar owner Quan Truong is giving us the virtual tour after leaving a job in healthcare IT to pursue his passion for board games.
“What we’re offering is something unique and fun,” said Truong.
Before starting his first business, Truong was a member of a local gaming group on Facebook. They would meet up every month to enjoy some of their favorite board games at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach.
Truong hopes to bring the same energy to his new venture. The concept is simple: you pay $5 per person and get access to the entire collection of 600 board games for as long as you want. You can also order food and drinks before settling in to play.
They will also have game guides on staff to walk customers through the wide selection of games.
“In the past 25 years, board games really started to explode," said Truong. "Today there are thousands of games being released every year.”
Truong is hitting the market at just the right time.
Board game sales were surging even before the pandemic, and when everyone started quarantining, the industry really took off.
The idea of a board game café isn’t new. They have them in bigger cities and they’re massively popular.
And now Hampton Roads has one of its own.
The grand opening weekend for Roll With It is September 17 - 19.
It's located in what used to be Panera Bread in Virginia Beach's Parkway Plaza next to Lynnhaven Mall.