Hi and welcome to Letsxcape Together in the heart of Newark! I’m Anthony and I own the cafe along with my wife Lucy, and have successfully and carefully grown our business and community over the last eight years. So, who are we?
Our boardgame cafe grew from a pop-up business in partnership with Letsxcape escape rooms - hence our name. From those small acorns we have thoughtfully grown in size and scope and are extremely lucky to be sited right in the town market square, in the historic Georgian town council building. Newark is a beautiful place and well worth a visit in it’s own right.
Our history, along with that of the town, has very much shaped who we are and what we offer. We love games (more on that later), however we have hosted so much more. We have art groups, writing groups and even a knitter knatter group. And let’s not forget Italian speaking tuition during the week too! We have hosted several dramatic stage performances in the Victorian prison cells with the local drama group. Surprisingly our cafe was once the local police station and was one of the last Independent forces to join the National Constabulary - we have many other stories about our unique space - ask us when you visit…
We have also hosted several Steampunk Balls and grown steampunker’s presence in the town for large themed weekends - something we are quite proud to have been part of.
We have also supported several local writers in hosting book signings and ‘meet the author’ events. Many of those authors are now regular coffee connoisseurs!
Over time we have christened the cafe as a space for creative minds for creative people to enjoy their past times. Gaming though has always been our personal motif with sharing our passion for playing all forms of games, including several tabletop options hosted in our cellar. When it’s not so busy we like nothing more than to sit with guests and share some of our favourites. Our commitment to the hobby culminated last year in our creation of a local boardgame convention, GatewayCon.
All of this fantastic activity takes place in our unique, quirky, environment which was designed from the ground up to meet the needs of a local Newark audience as well as gamers alike. Upon entering, the space seamlessly moves from welcoming Georgian high notes, through a Steampunk inspired space, to our playful seaside themed bays and finally a quieter study area for larger games. We continue to surprise guests with our inter-wars inspired, vaulted ceilinged, cellar hosting our wargames collection and three tabletop games tables. We have worked really hard to ensure that whether our community just want coffee and cake, or would like to enjoy a game or two, all feel welcome and are able to take a little time to relax and make friends.
What would a games cafe be without a games library…Our games collection is a labour of love with around a thousand games to chose from. The collection began in the 1980s with a personal passion for wargames, including a first game Panzerblitz (check your history books!). Then ‘Settlers of Catan’ was discovered which catapulted an almost compulsive exploration and collection of games through what we feel was the golden period of the Noughties with a blossoming of exploring themes and games mechanics. Splendor and Azul are often shared with guests who are relatively new to the hobby, with some other gateway games like Lords of Waterdeep and Card based Dominion close behind.
For those with a deeper desire for Eurogames and such there are many more complex offerings, plenty to choose from. Our personal favourite is Dead of Winter, with a co-operative, zombie narrative driven set of objectives, with a potential traitor amongst the team - what more could you want!
If you are interested in what we have, take a visit to our website www.letsxcapecafe and go to the games library page. Here there is a link to our living boardgame collection kept up to date on Boardgamegeek. One thing is for sure, there’s a wide variety of games from the last thirty five years to keep guests coming back for ‘just one more game’…
Whilst guests can enjoy the games library at anytime we do have a dedicated community night every Thursday evening from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. All levels and interests are welcome to join this welcoming group of gamers.
And no gaming session would be complete without flavoursome beverages and wholesome food to accompany them. We share a traditional, local family owned coffee ‘Stokes of Lincoln’ for which we are recognised as one of the best cups of coffee in town. Sticking to our traditional flavours we have distilled our menu over several years to promote full, fresh and tasty sandwiches, including toasted choices. These are supplemented with a light bite offering for those with a smaller appetite. For those with a sweeter tooth there is also one of the best ranges of cakes from a variety of local bakers too.
So what can you expect if you visit us? As our impressive reviews show, we provide a warm, friendly and relaxed service in a quirky, interesting environment. Many of our guests, whether just visiting for a coffee or a gaming session, have become friends and meet regularly; so much so that we know many of our guests by first name. We value community in a very real sense which is expressed very warmly through our relationships with our audience.
To find us, simply head to Newark Market Square, look at the impressive Georgian building sited at the front and look for the steps on the right hand side which lead into our space.
We offer quirky hours which are very much orientated to the current climate and the visiting behaviour of local people. During the week you can find us open between 10am to 2pm Wednesday and Friday. Weekends are 10am to 4pm Saturday and 11am to 4pm Sunday; and don’t forget the community evening every Thursday between 6.30pm and 10.30pm too. To book, go to the contact page of our website www.letsxcapecafe.co.uk or alternatively contact us through our facebook page.
We look forward to meeting you all for a chat, coffee and a game soon…
