A new space for geeks and gamers is coming to Nottingham.
Geek Retreat, a brand-new venue for fans of gaming, films and comic books, will open on 7 Flying Horse Walk on November 30.
Described by owner Graham Palk as a place to “socialise, play games and let out your inner geek”, the gaming cafe and comic shop hybrid aims to unite fans of different hobbies under one roof.
“Geek Retreat has its very own unique pattern,” Graham said.
“Its focus is widespread, covering what we call the four pillars of tabletop.”
According to Graham, these “four pillars” refer to cards, role-playing, miniatures and board games.
While existing venues such as Ludorati, Dice Cup and Warhammer each specialise in one or two of these formats, Geek Retreat aims to be the first in Nottingham to encompass all four.
“Two years ago, I and a colleague started a role-playing club – and when that overfilled our location, we started looking for something bigger,” Graham said.
“Someone else running a club had overfilled his location, and the three of us started to set up a bigger, better venue.”
Along with co-owners Owen Hildyard-Todd and Ross T. Price, Graham set up a new franchise under the existing Geek Retreat brand, which currently has nine other stores in the UK.
Graham, who has ran other small businesses in the past, felt the main hurdle in setting up the venue was finding a central location and a big enough space.
“Our biggest challenge was location, location, location,” he said.
“A couple of them fell through before we found the right one.”
Geek Retreat will be inviting members of the gaming community to their opening event on November 30, where they will run game demonstrations and maybe even have some celebrities in attendance.
After Christmas, Graham and the Geek Retreat staff promise various workshops, potential film nights and dozens of tournaments featuring six different card games.
Several sessions will be specifically catered to fit around busy student life, so resident geeks at NTU can have a game or two in-between lectures throughout the day.
The Geek Retreat brand also has an existing discount scheme that students will be able to take advantage of at the new store.
Graham added: “It’s an amazing place, we have an amazing support group and we hope everybody will come down.”
Geek Retreat opens at 10am on Saturday, November 30.
By Jamie Morris
Feature image credit: igor (Flickr)