Hi there! It's Adam here, owner, cook, bouncer, cleaner, shoulder to cry on, listening ear, and face of Sliced n Diced.
What is Sliced n Diced?
Sliced n Diced is Birmingham's original board game cafe, established in 2019 and providing a nurturing space for gamers and non-gamers of all kinds since then. We have a library of over 300 games available to play alongside air hockey, pool, pinball and table tennis. The cafe is proudly LGBTQIA+ owned and run, and provides a space for all members of the community and allies to meet up and feel safe.
The cafe has built a wonderful community of people over the years, through various nights such as Dungeons & Dragons and Blood on the Clocktower events.
How does it all work?
Board game cafes are a place where you can meet up with friends (or even meet new people at social events!) and play a huge selection of games whilst enjoying some tasty food and drink! It's £2 per person, per hour for access to the games, or you can pop in just for food and drink with no cover charge.
We also offer a great value bottomless brunch, the perfect activity for a celebration such as a birthday, hen party, stag do, anniversary or just for making it through the week.
What are you going to do with the money raised?
Sliced n Diced is currently run by myself, with no other staff. It's challenging at times, but seeing people come in and enjoy themselves, in a place that I've helped to shape, makes it all worthwhile.
Now that the cafe is running on a regular rhythm, it feels like the right time to expand, and this is where you come in! I'm looking to raise money grow Sliced n Diced. This involves:
- Employing staff at the existing Selly Oak cafe (so I can focus on growth and maybe take a guilt free day off!)
- Investing in new games to play, as well as stocking games and things like trading cards for people to buy
- Putting on more events, such as trading card tournaments, drag brunch/bingo and other themed nights
and the big one:
- Opening a second location!
That's right, Sliced n Diced is ready to open up a new cafe. "Sliced n Diced 2, Electric Boogaloo".
Where will the new cafe be?
Staying within Birmingham, the ideal location would be on a bustling high street meaning the cafe could open up throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as offering the board game selection that we're known for. Early thoughts for a location are either in Kings Heath, the gay quarter within the centre or another of the busy suburbs of Birmingham. This will be open to suggestions, and subject to the perfect location becoming available. The next cafe needs to be fully accessible to welcome all gamers!
Whilst funding is being raised through this campaign as well as trying to access business loans, I'll be scouting out locations to make sure we have the perfect spot. Once this has been acquired, updates will be posted.
What are the timescales?
In a nutshell, before the end of the year! I've been running Sliced n Diced for nearly 18 months now and it feels like the right time to expand. The biggest task will be finding the right location and then getting it ready. Once that's done it'll be all systems go with getting staff on board and stocking the place with a wide variety of games that everyone can enjoy.
I'll be (hopefully) securing funding through a business loan in order to get the ball rolling, and this coupled with the Crowdfunder campaign will mean we can get this done in time for Christmas.
This is a huge step forward for the business, and means we'll (hopefully) get another independent cafe into a high street near you! Any and all support is greatly appreciated, whether that's through a donation or through sharing the crowdfund with others.
If you want to know any more, please reach out or pop in to Sliced n Diced in Selly Oak to have a chat!
Thank you for reading.
Adam
Sliced n Diced