Meet Nathan Murray of House Rules Lounge

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Murray. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Brian Beaucher opened a craft beer and bottle shop in 2016. Moving from Boston, he fell in love with the commercial space in downtown GR’s historic Klingman Furniture building. The beer bar was a hit and attracted board gamers from day one. Not long after opening, a weekly Magic: The Gathering group met every Wednesday. This event continues today. At the end of 2019, he decided to change the concept and replace the beer shelves with board games and bigger tables. 

In 2015, Nathan Murray was visiting Colorado Springs and visited his first board game bar, The Boardgame Republic. Nathan came from large family in a small town in Northern Michigan and played games for most of his life, but he had never seen a concept like this and felt it would be a hit in Grand Rapids. 

Returning to Michigan, Nathan would continually bring up his idea for this boardgame bar concept to anyone who would listen. After years of hating the office work, he was doing, he decide the time was right (2018) to create a business plan and apply for an SBA loan. The process proved to be more difficult than expected. The loan was denied, and the idea was described as risky, and unproven. 

By pure chance, It turned out that Brian and Nathan had a mutual friend in that same small town in Northern Michigan named Courtney. Courtney knew about Brian’s new boardgame bar concept and texted Nathan saying, “someone’s opening your boardgame bar idea in GR”. Nathan reached out to Brian and then set up a time to meet. 

At that time, the bar was in transition from the old business. Our liquor license was not approved for transfer so we couldn’t sell any alcohol. The store had very few customers, about 75 games, and no liquor. Not to be deterred, Nathan proposed a partnership and Brian accepted. 

From that point on the store grew. We hired our first employee in March of 2020. We grew the lounge library from 75 games to around 600. We currently employee 9 people. The stores received about 2000 customers a month and is often at capacity. Brian and Nathan decided to expend and add 50 additional seats and a small kitchen. 

The stores’ focus has been and will continue to be on gaming. Although we have a full bar we identify as a board game lounge. We host weekly gaming events like Magic The Gathering, Euchre, Wingspan, Dominion, Catan, and many others. We offer learn-to-play gaming events and have hosted many demo games and Kickstarter games. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a few struggles in making House Rules profitable. This was a somewhat new concept, so we had a hard time finding other businesses that we could model. When we opened, we had no reservation system and just accepted walk-ins. It wasn’t uncommon for people to stay 5-7 hours. At first, we thought this was a good thing, but that was wrong. The customers were happy, but it just wasn’t profitable. We initiated a 3-hour max table limit and started embracing a ‘table turn’ mentality. This helped tremendously. 

Additionally, when we first opened, we had no gaming fee, just a $10 minimum spend. In 2022, did away with the $10 minimum spend and implemented a flat $5 gaming fee. This gaming fee helped pay for new games in the lounge and replace worn-out games. The customer didn’t balk, and profitability increased. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about House Rules Lounge?
House Rules Lounge is truly unique. We see gamers of all ages, races, and interests. All our employees are gamers, too. It’s really a gaming mecca. We offer 20 local draft beers, I’d argue one of the best lineups in town, and a full bar with creative cocktails. Additionally, we might be the only bar in GR with a wide variety of non-alcoholic options. You can try N.A. beers, mocktails, custom teas, and coffee as well as a draft rootbeer. 

We’re completely family-friendly. All ages are welcome. 

We also have the best staff you could ask for. We pay them well and offer benefits like medical, dental, vacation, and sick time. The staff is really what makes the place so great. 

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I have to bring up the staff again. 

House Rules started with Nathan and Brian, but they’re not the ones who deliver the House Rules experience that everyone talks about. Our staff loves board games. That’s why they’re here. They understand the excitement of learing a new game. They appreciate the look that newcomers have when they see 600 games on the wall. It’s a nerd paradise. 

Pricing:

• $5pp gaming fee.
• Affordable drinks and snacks.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.houseruleslounge.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseruleslounge/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houseruleslounge