Roll Play, a board game cafe that spent three years on State Street, has moved to Garver Feed Mill on the East Side.
Sonia Tan, who owns the business with her husband, Jin Lee, and friend, Charles Thio, said people come not just for games, or the cafe’s Asian-fusion food, or its extensive variety of non-alcoholic beverages, including bubble teas, but for “an experience as a whole.”
Tan said there are two types of customers, those who come for the games and then look at the menu and say, ” ‘Oh my God, I want to try this’ and order food and drinks.”
And there are customers who come in looking for food and drinks, she said, and see Roll Play’s game library and say, “Oh, I want to play a game.”
Tan said the shop has games that take about five minutes, games that take 10 minutes, and games that can take hours.
But most people who come into Roll Play “are looking for a social experience,” Tan said.
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Roll Play at Garver opened May 27 next to Glitter Workshop, in the space that was Surya for five months. The vegan cafe closed at the start of the pandemic.
Bryant Moroder, project manager for Garver’s developer, Baum Revision, of Chicago, calls Roll Play a “pop-up,” but said if the business is successful, he hopes it stays. He said he and the owners will evaluate how it’s doing in mid-September.
The cafe’s pan-Asian street food menu includes soboro beef don, a Japanese rice bowl with ground meat simmered in soy sauce, dashi, and sake; bibimbap, the Korean rice favorite served with sautéed vegetables and choice of meat and egg.
There’s also Taiwanese braised pork rice with pork belly, cucumbers, braised egg and pickled radish; jian bing, Chinese style crepes with two eggs, black sesame seeds, scallions and crispy wontons; and tteokbokki, Korean sweet and spicy rice cakes served with fish cakes and scallions.
Tan, who’s from Malaysia, moved to Madison 13 years ago to attend the UW, and graduated with an economics degree in 2013.
She said she came up with Roll Play’s recipes, adding that they were easy to teach her employees to assemble.
The menu was reduced from the State Street menu because the kitchen is smaller and Tan said they want to focus on the overall customer experience.
Thio, who is from Singapore, said Roll Play’s most popular menu item is the Singapore chicken rice, which he makes himself. He said otherwise he’s in charge of ordering and teaching games. He said The Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, and Ticket to Ride are the three most popular games.
He said eventually customers will be able to rent games from Roll Play’s library and bring them home. People are currently checking out games to play in the cafe, in the larger Garver area, or on the patios.
Thio came to UW-Madison six years ago for master’s degrees in economics and food science, which he got in 2019.
The State Street Roll Play, which opened in July 2019, started out more geared around games, but began focusing on carryout food early in the pandemic, said Tan, whose husband, Lee, and partner, Thio, were minority partners of Yushen Chen at the original Roll Play.
“Our customers, they like what we offer because we offer something pretty unique compared to other Asian restaurants,” Tan said. “We don’t have anything deep fried. A lot of our items are street-food inspired.”
The business has about 250 games, and is expanding its library monthly, she said. It recently added some games that can be played on the Garver patio, including a large wooden Jenga game; Pop-Up Pirate, where competitors push a pirate into the barrel and take turns sliding their swords into the barrel; and Quarto, where players place pieces on a gameboard to create a row where all four pieces have at least one common attribute.
Roll Play’s game fee is $5 per party, but parties of any size that spend $20 or more on food and drinks get the fee waived.
Thio said business has been slow, and hopes it will improve. Roll Play, he said, “is bringing a different type of business to Madison that’s a little bit of entertainment, a little bit of food, and the food is also something different.”
39 Madison-area restaurant, bar and coffee shop openings in 2021, including more on the way
Stadium Takeout

Don Woods opened Stadium Takeout in early October, next to his barber shop, Faded Club, on Monroe Street, where Lorraine’s, and before that, New Orleans Take-Out, were.
The Harvey House

Joe Papach and Shaina Robbins Papach opened this modern-day supper club in July, tucked into the Madison Train Depot, behind Motorless Motion Bicycles on West Washington Avenue.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Delicacies of Asia

Ting Cai Zhou opened this State Street counter-service restaurant where Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza was.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Kettle Black Kitchen

Brian and Alicia Hamilton opened this intimate, full-service 30-seat restaurant on Monroe Street in August across from Trader Joe’s where Joon, Burgrito and Double S BBQ were.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Patricia’s Taqueria & Groceries

Patricia Sánchez and Adrian Serrato opened this restaurant and store in the former Farm Tavern, south of the Beltline. In November, they opened a second one in Lakewood Plaza Shopping Center at Sherman and Commercial avenues.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Forage Kitchen Middleton

Henry Aschauer opened a fourth of his healthy fast-food restaurants in November on Old Sauk Road in a former Cousins Subs shop.
Portillo’s West

Madison’s second Portillo’s hot dog restaurant with a three-lane drive-thru opened at West Towne Mall where a Sears Auto Center was.
Grace Coffee Co.

Carlos Falcon opened his fifth and sixth coffee shops, one on Park Street in the Peloton Residences apartments, the other in Verona, next to the new high school.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Sunroom Cafe

Juan Montiel and his father, Euler Montiel, bought this second-floor, State Street favorite last summer and added some of their native Venezuelan specialties.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

This Louisiana-based chain, focused on chicken strips, opened in June next to Colectivo Coffee on State Street.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Ancora Cafe + Bakery

The cafe opened in February in Maple Bluff where Manna Café was. It joins Tori Gerding’s King Street Ancora and her Ancora on University Avenue.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Mercies Coffee

Mallory Orr, who briefly worked at the 20-year-old Cool Beans, near East Towne Mall, opened her new shop in its place in December.
Poke Bar

Evelyn Jian opened her small Middleton counter-service restaurant in early May.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Peanut Butter & Jelly Deli

Mike Hottinger opened this counter-service shop in mid-September on State Street in what had been Frutta Bowls.
Blind Shot Golf & Social Club

Brent Mann and Michelle Duvall opened their indoor golf club, bar and restaurant in June on Fair Oaks Avenue on the ground level of the mixed-use Garver Point Apartments.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Mount Vernon Tap

Walter Heinrich and Jennie Corey-Heinrich took over the popular bar Marcine’s in Mount Vernon and renamed it. They promised to keep almost everything the same.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Granny’s Kitchen

Tyrone Austin and Ondray Sellers, with help from Mary Bridges, opened the takeout restaurant in February in the back of a Citgo gas station on Northport Drive.
Takarajima Sushi

Jeannie Ni opened this sushi spot in April on Cottage Grove Road where Good Food Low Carb Café was.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Takara Sushi Station

Jeannie Ni opened her conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in August on Whitney Way where, for 14 years, she co-owned Takara Japanese Restaurant.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Marquette Hotel Café

James Montgomery opened the cafe mid-May in his three-year-old hotel on South Baldwin Street off Williamson Street.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Bombay Fast Café

Madhuri Ranade opened her food cart in June on Library Mall, and sells four items.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Good News Ice Cream

Andy Haker, who owns Madison’s on King Street, turned the restaurant-bar’s party room into an artisan ice cream and coffee shop.
Oz by Oz

Sam Parker, Ryan Huber and Brian Bartels, who also own neighboring Settle Down Tavern, opened the bar in October on King Street.
Leopold’s Books Bar Caffe

Sam Brown opened a combination bookstore, bar and café in July next to the Regent Street Rocky’s, where Greenbush Bakery was.
Taco Local

David Rodriguez opened Taco Local in April on Williamson Street where Underground Butcher was.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Dive Inn

Ryan Ramig and Josh Wacker opened a bar on Cottage Grove Road where JoBeck’s Bar was.
Hone

Michael Parks opened this eclectic restaurant in the former Forequarter space on East Johnson Street.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
City Barbeque

This Ohio-based chain opened its first Wisconsin location in March at the corner of Gammon and Mineral Point roads.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Rising Sons Verona

Sinarack “Be” Macvilay opened a third Rising Sons Laotian-Thai restaurant on West Verona Avenue, where Jordandal Cookhouse was.
Camp Beef Butter BBQ

Patrick Riha, who owns Beef Butter BBQ restaurant on the North Side, opened this seasonal outdoor spot in the town of Westport.
Buck & Honey’s Waunakee

The restaurant, in the former Boston’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar, had a soft opening in December 2020, but is being counted as a 2021 opening.
Forma

Nathan Mergen, who owns the restaurant/bar 107 State at that address, expanded next door last spring into the former Shoo store, for a private dining room and “urban art gallery.”
Dark Horse ArtBar

Patrick DePula of Salvatore’s Tomato Pies on East Washington Avenue took over the space next door that used to be Star Bar for an art gallery, bar, and performance art and music venue.
Coming soon: Jacknife

Jacknife will be a fast-casual restaurant on East Washington Avenue from the owners of the sushi favorite RED.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Coming soon: Chasers 2.0

Chasers Bar & Grille was chased out of its West Gorham Street home because of redevelopment, but Chasers 2.0 is opening in the old Nomad spot a block away.
Coming Soon: East Johnson Family Restaurant

East Johnson Family Restaurant, an upscale diner from the couple behind Johnson Public House.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Coming Soon: Driftless Social

Driftless Social in Mount Horeb, a supper club in the old Schubert’s diner and bakery from Matt and Tim Schmock, two grandsons of the founders of Smoky’s Club in Madison.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Coming Soon: Mio Fratello

Mio Fratello, a pizza place on the North Side from Alessandro Monachello and Chris Guglielmo. The partners have tweaked their business model to do catering and pop-up events. They’ve been selling their wood-fired pizza at the North Side Farmers’ Market and at festivals and private events.
Coming soon: Red Rooster

Red Rooster in the former Knuckle Down Saloon from Jesse Steinberg, Paul Schwoerer, Tim Payne and Dan Resnick, members of Madtown Mannish Boys, a local blues band.
Read more restaurant news at: go.madison.com/restaurants