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Newark board games café, The LetsXcape café, such a success it is on the move to a new location




Just a few months after opening, one of Newark’s board games cafés has been so successful that it is on the move.

The LetsXcape café, run in conjunction with the escape rooms of the same name at Kelham Hall, opens on Friday in its new location.

The café has moved just round the corner from Chain Lane to a larger space in the town centre.

Former board games café on Chain Lane, Newark, moves and expands. Left to right: Games Master Adam Oglesby, Co-Founder Athony Foxwell, Co-Founder Nigel Catt and son Flynn Catt, 9. 251019JT2-5
Former board games café on Chain Lane, Newark, moves and expands. Left to right: Games Master Adam Oglesby, Co-Founder Athony Foxwell, Co-Founder Nigel Catt and son Flynn Catt, 9. 251019JT2-5

It has given founders Nigel Catt and Anthony Foxwell the chance to go to town to create a café with a unique style.

Family, friends, and local businesses and artists have pitched in to help transform the former YMCA charity shop, at the front of Newark Town Hall, into a quirky location for people to enjoy games, have a coffee and cake, and relax.

The front of the café has a Georgian coffee house style, reflecting the frontage of the town hall itself, with period decor in shades of green, and comfortable leather sofas.

The central area has a Victorian theme, with rich red walls, dark furniture, steampunk-style artwork, and old tip-up theatre seats

The back of the café is dedicated to battle-themed gaming, and will have a Cabinet War Rooms feel.

“We are trying to create little glimpses of history in different areas of the café,” Anthony said.

The café is working with the town’s museums service and the National Civil War Centre to create changing displays about different aspects of Newark’s history.

There are also plans to expand into the large vaulted cellar below, which could lend itself to immersive play.

Anthony said the Chain Lane café site had been on a short-term tenancy, in view of the future development of the Buttermarket, but both Newark Town Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council had helped with its re-location.

“Both councils have seen the value of our venture and are helping to create our vision of entertaining Newark,” he said.

The café aims to encourage people to discover, re-discover, or enjoy improving the art of playing board games.

There are more than 250 available, ranging from simple ones suitable for the whole family to complex ones that are more of a challenge for seasoned players.

There is always someone on hand to help explain and teach the games.

Anyone can pop in to have a chat and find out more over a drink and cake.

The café has an official opening weekend on November 23 and 24, which includes an immersive theatre play, and story-telling.

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