The Next Step // March Update
I’m so grateful that we were able to get together with folks for our Anniversary party a couple of Sundays ago and just pause to reflect on how much we all care about this precious community we’ve all had a part in fostering.
For those who weren’t able to make it (and for those who were, but want some additional details) I’m here to share exactly what’s been transpiring behind the scenes.
First of all—yes, the dream is coming true—we’re taking over the Allstate office next door!
Unfortunately, the whole situation isn’t entirely good news. As we were working through the details of our takeover, our landlord also informed us that the entire building is being sold to developers, and by September 2025 it’s probably going to be ground into dust.
So it goes.
We’ve known for a while that this wasn’t going to be our forever home, but now we have a slightly more concrete timeline.
Suffice to say, doing the construction required to create the “dream” expansion I showed in my last post no longer makes sense for us, but I think this new space will still shape out to be something really darn cool. Not only are we going to have three additional tables for folks to book, but by keeping the space separate, it’ll be much easier for us to explore some exciting possibilities such as 24-hour access to tables.
Waystone Annex
3 Tables.
Self-serve coffee and non-alcoholic drinks.
Reservable by all members during normal business hours.
Available to book even while events are being held in the main space.
Eventual 24-hour access opportunities.
Waystone Speakeasy
5 Tables.
Full drink service
Open and reservable to anyone during normal business hours.
Main space for hobby and social events such as tournaments, Hobby Sundays, Trivia Nights, and more.
BJ, the renowned woodsmith over at Understory Woodworking has already gotten started on three gorgeous new tables that will match the four iconic ones on our main floor, and the goal is to have them ready by April.
Things are likely to develop as we build the space out, and over a longer period of time as we get used to what it means running two asymmetrical spaces. So please keep talking to us—let us know what works and what doesn’t, and if you’re a member, participation in the next Community Survey is going to be super critical.
Some questions you may have:
How will the Annex hours work?
The Annex will share the same hours as the speakeasy for most reservations. Exactly like how it works in the main space now, even though it won’t be staffed, we’ll let you know when it’s closing time and then give you 30 minutes to wrap everything up.
How will folks access the Annex when they have a reservation?
When you make a reservation for the Annex during normal business hours, you’ll check in with the staff on duty in the speakeasy, and get in via a door code, key card, or key fob that’s provided to you (we’re still working out the details here). This way we still get to see everyone’s beautiful faces and make sure no one just wanders in.
Eventually we want to offer some form of 24-hour access, and when that happens folks who elect that option and/or are eligible will have a unique code/card/fob that allows them all-hours access (we’ll still require that they make reservations in order to avoid scheduling conflicts).
What about alcoholic drinks in the Annex?
At the moment, our liability insurance won’t cover alcohol consumption in that space. In the future there may be room for folks to crack some beers or pour a couple glasses of wine, but we need more time to make sure we don’t get arrested.
In terms of non-alcoholic options, we want members to be able to take advantage of everyone’s favorite perk—our tasty, free Herkimer coffee—so we’re working on getting a bean grinder and coffee maker that folks can use in the Annex on a self-serve basis. We’re also exploring some sort of honor system for non-alcoholic drinks while you’re over there.
What terrain will we have access to in the Annex?
Our goal is to have at least one set of the most popular types of terrain that folks would need living in the Annex at all times (we don’t really want terrain moving back and forth between the two). For games that use very specific mats and terrain, our staff will pay close attention to the day’s reservations and do their best to make sure the correct terrain is available in whatever space you’ve booked.
What about hobby tables and simply hanging out in the Annex?
We’ll ask that you still make reservations for this sort of thing, just like you would in the speakeasy space, mostly because it will help us avoid scheduling and capacity issues.
There’s a lot of space in the Annex. Why aren’t we adding more tables?
The easiest answer to this is that we want to use the Annex space to help us with a few things other than just table capacity—we’re going to use a portion of it to help solve our storage problems in the speakeasy, provide additional lockers for Community Amplifiers, a potential workspace for staff, and more.
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Anyway, I hope you’re excited. I know we are. I can’t believe our tiny little club has come this far.
Cheers
Dustin
