“The concept for Another Round stemmed from my moving to Portland and wanting a third space where I could hang out and congregate with people around board games, which is a kind of place that didn’t really exist here. I had been to other board game bars and cafes, but most either leaned too far into the drinking aspect or felt like an old basement. The inspiration for the interior was to create a space that would be equally appealing to the hardcore gamer as it would be to someone who has no interest in games and just wants to come in for a great cup of coffee or a delicious cocktail. I wanted it to be incredibly approachable for everybody who walks by.

“As someone who loves the world of liquid culinary creations, having a bar area for playing around with cocktails, local draft beer, and coffee and espresso drinks was super important. We commissioned a custom-built bar from Tom Draper at Outer Forest Woodworking, which is made from maple. The rest of the space kind of designed itself according to the environment we were trying to create. When you’re building a board game–focused place, small tables won’t cut it, so we added big tables that allow guests to play a variety of games with multiple sides. Woodhull’s architecture team developed a modular shelving system on a pegboard for us so that we can constantly rearrange the walls every couple of months when new games come in.

“Throughout the design process, I made it clear that I wanted the space to feel welcoming in both the morning and the evening. To brighten it up, we incorporated as much natural light as we could, and we purchased a handmade chandelier from Italy for the lounge area. The front three tables have individual sconces to add a bit of extra lighting when needed, and we mixed in plenty of plants and pops of green to complement the natural wood tones.

“Timothy Goldkin at Ramble More Design created some custom pieces of large-format, wax-sealed artwork for us that play on the motif of games as a part of the community, and muralist Erica Sedler painted a landscape onto a cinder- block cutout in the brick wall so that it feels like a window to the outdoors. In line with our idea of playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously, there are some spots where the brick has gone missing over years of wear and tear that we filled in with Legos.”

—Harry Sultan, owner of Another Round