First look inside the new Leeds board game bar Chance and Counters

We speak to director Kit Carnell about the new bar and cafe on Merrion Street.

Transcript

00:00 So I'm Kit, the Ops Director for Chance Encounters.

00:04 We're currently in our new LEEDS site, which opened last week.

00:09 Can you just tell us what the business is?

00:12 Yeah, so we are a board game cafe bar.

00:17 We try and pair our knowledge of board games with high class hospitality,

00:23 particularly with craft beers, coffees and fresh food.

00:28 So if I'm a customer and walk through your door, what can I expect?

00:32 So you'll be greeted by our awesome staff,

00:36 who will be able to discuss our collection of 500+ different board games

00:42 and treat you to some of our great hospitality offerings as well,

00:46 with local breweries, some breweries from Fairbrook Fields,

00:51 as well as our fresh hospitality menu.

00:55 So we have a massive selection of games for people to play in store,

01:01 which they can get help from our specialised staff.

01:04 We also sell games here as well, which is a hand-picked retail offering

01:09 on what we think the games that work well with our customers.

01:13 So this is our fifth site. We were based in Bristol.

01:18 We've got two sites in Bristol, one in Cardiff and one in Birmingham.

01:22 This is our fifth site. Leeds is a wicked city.

01:26 There's a really thriving hospitality scene here and a lot of experiential stuff.

01:32 I feel like it was aching for a board game cafe here,

01:36 and actually a lot of the customers that we've had so far seem to be dead chuffed

01:40 that we're finally here, we've finally got something going.

01:44 We've been looking at these for quite a few years now

01:47 and finally found the dream site for us really, on Merion Street.

01:52 We have a massive mix of games here, something for everyone,

01:57 whether you want something heavy strategy or something lighter.

02:01 I think the majority of the games that we'll get played are silly party games

02:05 that you can have a laugh around the table with.

02:08 I think Pictionary Plus or Scrabble Plus.

02:12 Do you know what? We've had really, really lovely customers here.

02:16 I'm a Yorkshire man myself, so I know what the Yorkshire hospitality is like.

02:21 People have taken to it just so beautifully, and we've had a lot of really kind words.

02:27 I think instantly people understand what we're trying to do here

02:31 and the new experience that we're trying to bring to Leeds.