There and Back Game Cafe

There and Back Game Cafe Home to everyone's imagination! Board games, coffee, food, and friendship in Cathedral Square, Downtown Sacramento
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January games are going up on the Capital Books website now. We have a few new DMs joining us, too. Both Sara and Mikko ...
12/14/2024

January games are going up on the Capital Books website now. We have a few new DMs joining us, too. Both Sara and Mikko will be running our popular Gals ‘n Nonbinary Pals D&D games now.

Look for more game announcements as the DMs put together their games.

We’ll be offering a catered buffet-style dinner with each game night. Pricing is in line with what you were paying at the cafe. A non-food ticket is also available. Sodas, water, beer & wine will be available for purchase during your game.

All game nights will be posted on the Capital Books website rather than the There and Back website now (🔗 in the T&B Insta profile or capitalbooksonk.com/ )

Hope to see you all again for games.

🚙 Parking:

Capitol Parking Garage (10th & L)
Park on the west side and exit those elevators. Walk across the street to Capital Books.

City Hall Garage (10th between J & I)
Park on the west side and exit on 10th. Walk 1 block then turn left onto K St

We validate parking.

Everything is already boxed up and ready to go. We just could  use a few more people to help load and unload the truck.
12/10/2024

Everything is already boxed up and ready to go. We just could use a few more people to help load and unload the truck.

We have one ticket left for both games. We’ve moved RPG games over to Capital Books. Grab your seat at Thereandback.cafe...
11/22/2024

We have one ticket left for both games. We’ve moved RPG games over to Capital Books. Grab your seat at Thereandback.cafe/events

RPG games have moved over to our bookstore, . Sometimes, even better experiences rise from the ashes. We’ll soon be anno...
11/22/2024

RPG games have moved over to our bookstore, . Sometimes, even better experiences rise from the ashes. We’ll soon be announcing our *new* game experience, which will offer dinner themed to your game. And you’ll get to have the best view on K Street from our second floor. Stay tuned for details.

Pictured: Antonio’s One Ring RPG

Now that I have more time, I’m going to hold two sessions of gingerbread & sugar cookies decorating at our bookstore aro...
11/15/2024

Now that I have more time, I’m going to hold two sessions of gingerbread & sugar cookies decorating at our bookstore around the corner.

For families, we’ll run four 1-hour time slots. Pick the time that works for your family. Purchase 1 ticket per seat/child. Abbey and I will have 5 cookies per child to decorate, along with all the icing and sprinkles.

That evening, we’ll turn it into an adult sugarfest 🍬 with appetizers and drinks to wash those cookies down. Bring your sweetie. Gather your besties.

Visit thereandback.cafe/events for more details and tickets. ~Heidi

If you have a bit of time Saturday, that’ll be the push to get everything moved across the alley. Our friends at Envoy h...
11/15/2024

If you have a bit of time Saturday, that’ll be the push to get everything moved across the alley. Our friends at Envoy have been kind enough to rent one of their vacant retail spaces to us for a couple months to allow us time to secure a suitable warehouse.

Staff have been busy boxing things up this week. I fell off of our ladder while putting things on shelves this morning, so I’m banged and bruised on my right side. Of not much help 😔 (I always knew that being fat would someday come in hand 👍 — don’t think I broke my hip)

We’re looking at starting the migration at about 10 am Saturday. If interested, let me know so we can reach out to you with any delays or schedule change.

Appreciate it. ~Heidi

11/12/2024

Ross and I want to thank everyone who came out these last few days. The turnout was emotional and overwhelming. Thank you for your patience with long lines and waits for your orders. Your kind words — both in person and in the letters I will be reading tonight with a big box of Kleenex — touched me and Ross more than you realize 🧡

We celebrated our accomplishments with our wonderful staff tonight.

“Farewell... my brave Hobbits. My work is now finished. Here at last, on the shores of the sea... comes the end of our Fellowship.”

Until next time, friends. ~Heidi

Oh, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter from our website. We’ll be sharing some things there.

11/09/2024

Going out with a bang this weekend 😔. The staff wants to be open Monday till 4pm instead of 2:30 since it’s a holiday.

Something that Ross has been working on for the cafe is laser-engraving wood and slate products. We were getting ready t...
11/08/2024

Something that Ross has been working on for the cafe is laser-engraving wood and slate products. We were getting ready to move things around to turn the 14-ft game table into merchandise. He’ll be bringing these down to the cafe this afternoon for those who are interested.

Your kind words and outpouring of support was quite overwhelming and heartbreaking for me yesterday. I poured my heart and soul into this quirky place, and I feel I’ve let you all down. At the end of the day, I do know that we exhausted every idea we had to get this place to stop losing money.

Here’s what we know right now:

👉 Our social media will remain active.

👉 Some things will live on. More about that as we figure it out.

👉 Some of our DMs will continue running games at Capital Books. Details to come. Nov ticket holders will meet there.

👉 Support local small businesses. Many, like There and Back, are in danger of closing. If it’s a Downtown business, most DO offer parking validation, and garages are close and plentiful.

📖 We’re entering gift-buying season. Please refrain from buying books, games, etc., from online-only sources. Capital Books needs some love. That business is mostly doing alright, but it’s a daily struggle. We would love to continue to see There and Back customers over there. The basement (Another Universe) has 1300 sf of SF&F books, games, MTG, Pokemon, etc.

Thank you all for making us your home away from home. It was a steep learning curve for me, and it means the world to me that so many loved it here. —Heidi

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Monday will be our last day open. Ross has been trying to work with our la...
11/07/2024

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Monday will be our last day open. Ross has been trying to work with our landlord to maintain being open while we catch up with past-due rent, but has not been able to come to an agreement. After trying so hard to make ends meet at the cafe, we consistently come up short every month to cover all the bills, with rent being the largest. That gap has been getting smaller, but we haven’t yet seen enough of a trend to tell us we would eventually break even soon enough to move the dial.

Retail and restaurants have been challenged since COVID. State employees have been slow to return to Downtown. And more housing is years away.

So, we decided that Monday will be our last day open.

We learned a lot, met really great people, and do not regret the attempt. Maybe it would have succeeded in a different location or with better facilities, but as is, we just couldn’t find a sustainable path forward.

We made wonderful friendships with those who ate here and made us your coffee and game spot. 🧡 Thank you. Come by this weekend to bid farewell to the team and play one last game at There and Back.

Capital Books is doing well and will stay open and continue some of the There & Back activities. We’ll host game nights and tournaments, our themed dinners (possibly at Empress with a full kitchen and not the tiny kitchen we’ve been working from), and neighborhood activities. We are not giving up on Downtown and running a business here. We’re just having to let this one go.

Address

Sacramento, CA

Opening Hours

8am - 3pm

Telephone

+19162375925

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