Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Herndon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Board to Beers started as an unimaginable dream until I truly realized how short our lives can be. In July 2019 I lost my dad to cancer. The more I share this story, I think maybe it will get easier this time. Every time I write it down or talk about it, surely it won’t be that strange or hard to say. It hasn’t yet. However, it has made me extremely grateful for every single day, every chance I have to tell the story, every life of a stranger that I’ve come into contact because of it. You never know how long you have on this Earth so why not make the most of it?? That’s what Board to Beers has been for me.
In December 2019, Board to Beers came to fruition. It was built to be a safe place, not just for me but for every person that walks through its doors. It is meant to help grow a community and offer a home away from home. It is meant to be a release from the day to day grind. I think it has been just that…guests walk through the doors and are greeted by one of the resident bar dogs and our friendly staff and you can see stress leave their faces. Our bars dogs are my Emotional Support Animals but I never imagined they could do that job for so many others. Being able to offer that, makes the stress of a business well worth it. After guests are properly greeted, they enter into a space that was designed to feel like a living room, filled with over 1000 board games, local beer options, artwork and friendly faces.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I am a University of Memphis graduate with a degree in Biology and a minor in photography and sociology. I have been an instructor and event coordinator for almost 12 years, 11 of those with the Memphis Botanic Garden. I am also a Lead Naturalist with a non-profit organization called Memphis Kids in Nature. I do freelance photographer, bartend and dog sit on the side. You could say I don’t like to sit still long…
I’ve always dreamed of opening a business but what type of business was up in the air for quite some time. My husband and I have been big board gamers since we have been together and we had a collection of 200+ board games. Making this hobby a full time job just fell into place and Board to Beers was born. Board to Beers is Memphis, Tennessee’s first board game bar. Guests can come play board games for a small $5 library fee Thursday-Sunday. We offer demo nights, Dungeon and Dragons, Ladies’ Nights for women and non-binary individuals, Single Player Saturdays, Family Days, live trivia and a variety of themed events. We work with a lot of local artists to sell their work in the shop and we serve local beer, ciders and seltzers while working with local breweries throughout the year. We just recently started selling board games that you can try out in the shop before you purchase them. Board to Beers offers a place for people of all ages to come and relax, meet new friends and enjoy time out.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I started working on Board to Beers with no idea where the money was going to come from. This was the main reason why I never imagined I would actually start a business one day. My husband and I have used Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform that focuses on creativity. There are very few projects like this that have been funded on Kickstarter so the entire process was scary. I started a campaign for Board to Beers in December 2019 with a goal of $10,o00 for initial start up capital. The campaign was successfully funded after many days of “I hope this works”. We offered different levels of pledges which had things like t-shirts, pint glasses, yearly and lifetime memberships as incentive to back. Board to Beers would have never happened without the support of so many friends and complete strangers!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As soon as the funds from Kickstarter came in, I signed a 5 year lease on a location in Memphis, TN. It was Valentine’s Day of 2020…yes, 2020. The month after I signed and got my key, Memphis shut down due to COVID-19. I finally took the leap to start my own business and a global pandemic hits. I often get asked why I would open a business during a pandemic and trust me, things would have been different if I had known what I was getting myself into. I took this time to focus on renovations which I was able to finish by myself for the most part but getting equipment and supplies grew more and more difficult. I had the help of close friends on some of the larger projects. Acquiring permits and getting through inspections seemed nearly impossible. After months of uncertainty, we opened our doors, hesitantly, in August 2020. The day before we opened, one of our AC units was stolen from behind the shop. Murphy’s First Law and I were far too familiar with each other at this point. People came together to let us borrow portable AC units and fans for our opening party and that party made it all worth it. Every day that I see a happy guest or hear a sweet comment makes it all worth it. I’m excited to see my business run under normal circumstances and see it grow and impact our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.board2beers.com
- Instagram: @boardtobeers
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/boardtobeers
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-herndon-5b3018115/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCnQL7e4-wGkN0lsjgarJzlQ
- Yelp: http://m.yelp.com/biz/board-to-beers-memphis
Image Credits
Kaitlyn Becker Photography