A New Take On An Old Business Model

Games as far as the eye can see!

Snakes and Lattes, owned and operated by new entrepreneurs Castanie and his girlfriend, Aurelia Peynet, looks -- at first glance -- like any other downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada coffee shop. But unlike any other Bloor Street café this new venue is also home to hundreds upon hundreds of board games.

These board games, collected by the owner over a two year period from garage sales and thrift stores, can be used by customers for a flat fee of five dollars for unlimited use of the game collection during a single visit.

On top of gaming, customers can also purchase various drinks and snacks and word on the street has it that a liquor license is on the way any day now.

What could be better than a hot coffee or cold beer, a group of your closest friends, and a rousing game of Settlers? Well, with a game going on in a public place like this, you're bound to make more like-minded, board-game-loving friends too! Why not turn your two-man game into an eight-man game?

"A game is not meant to be [played by] two," Castanie says. "So you know what? If there's two groups, well then, we'll just make sure they play together, right?"

"You learn a lot from people playing board games."

Could this be the start of not just a Canadian, but a North American trend? Could we see board game cafés springing up all over? If you're currently considering starting up your own coffee shop or juice bar, why not add a unique element to it like Snakes and Lattes has? Sounds like it could be a fruitful venture!

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By: Bambi Blue

Bambi Blue is a freelance writer, editor, and codemonkey living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She moonlights as a jazz musician, a social butterfly, and most apparently a weisenheimer. Loves to cook, hates to clean, and can easily be found on Twitter.