We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Mattox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My husband and I began hosting weekly game nights in our home ten years ago- word of mouth, neighbors, colleagues and friends. Five years ago, the group was outgrowing our home, and honestly becoming a little to insular (just playing the ‘heavy cardboard’) and we wanted a broader outreach, we wanted to find more gamers! At our annual BGG.con (Board Game Geek Convention) in Dallas we met a lot of Texas gamers using MeepUp, and so we went public in 2017. Our MeetUp group is called Greeley Game Night, and we met every Saturday at various venues around town- a few breweries and a cafe. I also began running JV game (10+) at our local library, and occasionally game store and church. During the pandemic, we moved the group to Zoom- meeting faithfully every week and this is when we decided to buy a building to have a permanent home for Greeley Game Night, for “if and when” the world opened back up. Our vision was to own the building, own the beer, and run our gaming events on the weekends. We weren’t sure about the rest of the building’s usage and business plan- but we were also motivated to invest in downtown Greeley and looked forward to renovating a historic building.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our business is about community building. We have a beautiful venue and dedicated space for group gaming, patio gaming, private rooms for heavy games or D&D groups, and we truly welcome all types. When you come to a hosted game night, we tell you to you look for the person in the yellow trucker hat, introduce yourself and then we interview you on games you’re familiar with, and then we get you playing! We usually run 1-2 easy entry games (short rules, short time commitment), and then have a large variety of games going on throughout the house. We manage you a bit- make sure you’re comfortable and having fun. Some attendees bring a large tub or dedicated gamer backpack full of games they want to play, some come eager to try our collection and learn new games and some just come with an open mind. Another thing that sets us apart from other board game cafes/stores is that we do not charge to play and we do not charge for private rooms. We ask for a minimum purchase of food/drink to the venue during the gaming time, $10 on adults-only Saturday nights and $5 on all-ages Sunday afternoons. We have local WeldWerks beer on tap, a gourmet sandwich menu (all named after board games) and large variety of snacks and non-acholic drinks. It feels sterile and not user-friendly to go to a new place, pay to use a table, see a large wall of games, randomly choose one and then teach yourself with a video or even worse, read the rules. We enjoy playing with you, we can be your concierge!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Downtown Greeley has grown a lot in the 15 years we’ve lived here. I always take guests downtown! I love love the Greeley History Museum, and if we have time/interest, that’s on my itinerary. I also make a point to walk or drive down 8th Ave (UNC to downtown) and admire the art sculptures and I sometimes will show off my personal art studio upstairs at the Showcase Art Center (I hobby paint and am a member of the Greeley Art Association). If it’s a Thursday evening, I recommend listening to live Irish music at Patrick’s Pub and of course summer Friday Fests downtown are huge fun. On a Saturday morning, the Farmer’s Market is just excellent- roasting chills, live music, fresh popcorn, breakfast burritos from Albertos and of course lots of homemade goods and local produce.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We really love our gaming community- we have attendees, most of whom have become our dear friends, that even drive from out of town- Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland and Arvada, to game with us on a regular basis. This solid core group numbers 30-40, and they have lent invaluable support our group and the Boomer House- helping us move in heavy game shelves, setting up furniture, donating games, coming early on game nights to help set up and being official teacher volunteers (they have name badges) for our special events, homeschool gaming day, 50+ gaming luncheon and all-ages game day. So, we dedicate this shoutout to our beloved and growing Greeley Game Night community.

Website: greeleygamenight.com

Instagram: @boomer_house_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreeleyGameNight

Other: Boomer House: greeleyevents.com

Image Credits
Caleb Stewart- picture of Terra Mystica sandwich and game Amy and Lane Mattox- all remaining pictures, business owners

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