Gorgeous Board Game Cafe and Taphouse Combo Store Cooks Up Some Fire for September 2026
ICv2’s September Vibe Check comes from a relatively new store, Fellowship Games in Greenville, NC (they have only been open since the beginning of July 2026). This store features a cafe with a kitchen, a taphouse, and an event space available for tournaments, game nights, and private events. They also have a sizeable games with an array of family-friendly games.
Fellowship Games
Location: 814 Dickinson Ave.
Greenville, NC 27834
Store Specialties: Beer, Coffee, Reuben Sandwiches, Detroit Style Pizza, TCGs and Board Games.
Fellowship Games‘ Current Hotness: One Piece CG and Riftbound TCG are the hotness on the TCG side of things; Flamecraft Duals is burning up the board game tables. The new edition of Warhammer has also been notable.
Games That Are Growing Playgroups: Mahjong is back and bigger than ever here: “It is bringing in a vibrant, older female demographic that traditionally hasn’t spent time in game stores. They come in for regular playgroups, love our upscale atmosphere, and have fantastic buying habits, frequently spending on our full-service food and beverage menu as well as purchasing boutique sets, accessories, and other upscale board games.”
Buying Mood of Customer Base: Fantastic. This store is a real date night spot in Greenville, and customers are playing games while they eat.
External Factors Influencing Customers: Mainstream media pop-culture tie-ins and celebrity gamers are a major driver of sales for Fellowship; mentions Henry Cavil’s love of Warhammer and Stranger Things as examples.
Pick Hits for Q3 into Q4: Warhammer products are Fellowship’s Pick Hits to Click for the holiday season.
Additional Commentary: “Game stores can be exceptionally profitable, but you have to run them like an actual business. You have to be plugged directly into the pulse of the hobby. You can’t just sit behind a cash register, say “Hey, how’s it going,” and hope the customer figures out what to buy on their own. We firmly believe that you sell what you teach. Hands-on engagement and actively floor-coaching customers makes all the difference.
On the distribution side, we’ve loved working with Universal as our main partner. Navigating the web of allocations and getting registered in distributor systems for organized play is no small task. If you’re opening a new store that focuses strictly on existing core gamers, expect it to take about six months to fully get integrated into those systems. We’re exceptionally grateful that our full-service food and beverage model generates a steady stream of brand-new hobbyists by the truckload, otherwise that initial on-boarding phase would be a real grind.” – Shawn Hendrix, Fellowship Games.
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Source: ICv2
