We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Kim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.

Alright, Sean thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Sean and his husband, Justin have been board game players even before they met. They liked how much variety there is in the world of board games, and they loved how much you get to know about others through playing board games in person. They are very passionate about the board games, and they had a collection of over 200 board games before they opened Meeple’s Brew. When they visited a huge board game cafe called Snakes and Latte in downtown Toronto, they were inspired by how they could introduce the board game experience to others in a welcoming environment.

Sean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Meeple’s Brew is a board game cafe in Morrisville, and we offer a welcoming and friendly environment for board game lovers and coffee lovers alike! We have a collection of +500 board games that you can choose from to play. We have staff member(s) who can offer recommendations or help you learn how to play! We also have a wide variety of menu items to appeal to everyone, including a full coffee menu, breakfast items, sandwiches, desserts, and baked good!

Sean and Justin are the owners of Meeple’s Brew. Sean is working at Meeple’s Brew as the main barista/chef, and he is dedicated to offering the best services to provide the best experience for all the customers. Justin is working hard with our software engineer to bring you additional ways to improve your experience at Meeple’s Brew, including our awesome app that you can use to search through our board game library or earn rewards. They make an awesome team, and we hope you enjoy Meeple’s Brew as much as they do!

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we first opened in January of 2020, we were heavily focused on providing a welcoming space for playing board games, while serving coffee and food items to be enjoyed while playing board games. When the pandemic hit US in March of 2020, we had to close for a few months, and when we were finally able to reopen, it was difficult to continue operating as a space for board gamer due to social distancing.

That is when we pivoted to focusing on improving our coffee and food items. During this time, we developed recipes for all of our syrups and baked goods so that we can make them in house, and improved our online presence so that customers can place order online and find us on Doordash for delivery. We also added a rental system so that customers can take the games home to play with the family members, which we still continue to do.

Throughout this process, we were able to establish ourselves as a cool coffee shop with great coffee and food, in addition to being a space for board gamers.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Justin and I knew about the board games in depth since we have been board game enthusiasts since we were growing up, but neither of us had any idea on how to run a coffee shop.

During initial concept phase in late 2018, I got a job at a local coffee shop to learn the basic operations of a coffee shop. I also self-studied about coffee using various books available (e.g. The World Atlas of Coffee) and took coffee classes from local roasters in the area. Then I practiced making espresso drinks at home using home espresso machine (Breville) and developed the coffee menu.

I have been cooking since I was in high school, and I always enjoyed making up my own recipes for my family to try, so the menu items that we serve at Meeple’s Brew are my own creation as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meeplesbrew.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meeplesbrew/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meeplesbrew/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/meeples-brew-morrisville

Image Credits
Last picture @offlineraleighdurham