Coffee shops are a staple of society and now, you can't go half a block without running into one or four. So, in an age where you need to stand out amongst the crowd, how does one do this when you just sell coffee?
Let's backtrack a little. The production company I work with, Sketchfed Studios, LLC, wanted to host a mini company outing on an on going basis. Someplace open, inviting, not necessarily alcohol related as not everyone drinks liquor but different from the norm.
As we all love playing video games, I started to seek out establishments that had gaming as well. I found quite a few that offered board gaming as an incentive. The prices ranged from $10 and up for a max of 3 to 5 hours of gaming or ordering two item minimum while playing.
By NYC city standards, these weren't too pricey and doable for the budget. As I was searching around the areas we wanted to meet, I stumbled upon this small coffee shop called the Squarrel Cafe. It's located at 572 Atlantic Ave, 1 block west from the Barclays Center, by the Dunkin Donuts on the corner. I literally have passed by this place a million times and sadly never really noticed it (as I'm not that big of a coffee drinker) but the way the name is spelled definitely caught my attn.
So I went inside to check it out. It has a very simple and modern feel to it that's open and inviting. They serve coffee, bubble tea, etc and now offer desserts and hot pressed sandwiches. They also have board games, lots and lots of board games! They only charge $5 for all day unlimited play and have a vast assortment of titles I havent even heard of. The titles range from younglings all the way up to adults too. Can't beat that price either!
They have a special challenge posted on the large school-like blackboard located towards the front of the store and winner of the challenge gets a free item. Currently it's a giant Sudoku puzzle (I never really tried sudoku before, maybe I should start? Haha).
The biggest draw is that every one has their own personal space to eat, play games and even hold business meetings. All of these were going on simultaneously while I was scoping the place. This place is kid and teenager/ sfter school friendly and all the kids inside were very respectful. The bathroom is super clean, spacious and has this really cool hand dryer attached to the handles of the sink. Feel free to play around with that while you're in there, ha ha.
I never found out why the name is 'Squarrel' and not 'Squirrel', I have a hunch but I'll hold my tongue for now. They definitely did mean squirrel as the logo for the cafe is a picture of a squirrel. Oh well. They've only been open for about 6 months now and are newbies to the neighborhood, but definitely go check them out and show them some love!
www.squarelcafe.com
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