Board game lounge Dice Versa on tap for Tower280 in Rochester

Marcia Greenwood, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·4 min read

Riley Dethier had long wanted to be a pharmacist.

While a student at Irondequoit High School, he started a pharmacy internship, and after earning a doctor of pharmacy degree from St. John Fisher University in 2015, he began working full-time in the field.

He was on a path, but after a few years he was questioning his choice.

Just before COVID arrived, Dethier traveled to Toronto. A lifelong fan of board games, he stopped at Snakes and Lattes, a board game bar and restaurant with three locations in Ontario’s capital city and five others scattered around the United States.

He imagined something similar opening here.

Riley Dethier will turn this space on Broad Street into a board game cafe he will call Dice Versa. The counter on the right will become a bar area.
Riley Dethier will turn this space on Broad Street into a board game cafe he will call Dice Versa. The counter on the right will become a bar area.

Then the pandemic hit, and being a pharmacist “was just not fulfilling anymore,” said the 31-year-old Rochester resident. “It brought out some of the worst sides in people, and it just didn’t feel like my forever passion at that point.”

So, he found a new one and starting this fall will share it with Rochester.

Dethier expects to open Dice Versa, a board game lounge, in late September or early October in the former Original Grain on the ground floor of Tower280 at 280 E. Broad St.

Contractors are making changes to the space. “Nothing crazy,” Dethier said, “more like aesthetics and paint and stuff. Basically, I’m envisioning a long bar with stools and lots of cozy tables and seating, and one long shelf of all the board games you can have access to.”

An area that was used for food prep by the previous tenants will now be used as an event space or an area for larger groups.
An area that was used for food prep by the previous tenants will now be used as an event space or an area for larger groups.

Unlike the Canadian business that inspired it, Dice Versa won’t serve lattes or full meals. But it will offer beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks, appetizers and small and shareable plates.

The stars of the show will be the board games — hundreds of them, from classics including Monopoly to such newer titles as Junk Art — and Dethier is working with Penfield board game shop Just Games, where he also once worked, on curating a library.

“I don’t think people realize how big board games are nowadays,” he said.

Their popularity soared during the pandemic, when families were isolating and needed an activity.

In an interview a few weeks prior to the opening of The Strong National Museum of Play’s expansion, Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator, talked about the trend.

Board games “went through a huge resurgence during the pandemic,” Bensch said. “People had had it up to here with screen time, and to be able to engage with somebody around a table face to face is something that really rebounded and continues to be very powerful in the toy and game business.”

This counter area will be removed to allow for more seating.
This counter area will be removed to allow for more seating.

That social aspect is what Dethier values the most.

Unlike games played on screens, with board games, “You get to talk while you’re playing,” he said. “You get to have friendly banter and be with your friends. Like, me personally, I could spend hours playing board games with friends.”

The plan is to charge $10 for three hours of playing time.

Hours of operation likely will be 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; noon to 1 a.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday; closed on Monday.

Laying the groundwork

The space once used by Original Grain on Broad Street will become Dice Versa, a board game cafe.
The space once used by Original Grain on Broad Street will become Dice Versa, a board game cafe.

From the start, Dethier pictured Dice Versa with a permanent home.

But, “I honestly didn’t think I had enough experience to jump right into a brick-and-mortar location,” he said. “I didn’t have a name or anything out there yet, so if I just opened up, I wasn’t confident that people would rush in there.”

Around a year and half ago, he began testing the concept with pop-up events, including at Pawsitive Café in the East End and ArtisanWorks on Blossom Road, where he partnered with a caterer.

“Those events had 20 to 30 people,” he said. “It was really fun, and it gave me an idea of what I could expect.”

He also hosted events for college students, and said that they, along with twenty- to forty-somethings, are the people he is most focused on attracting as customers. “But obviously, families and kids can enjoy it as well,” he said. “Because, honestly, board games can be for anyone.”

Dice Versa is one of several new establishments that will encompass The Grove, a courtyard between Tower280 and the Butler/Till building at 260 E. Broad, where Branca Midtown has been operating since late 2016.

Among the others are Unwine’d, which will feature a self-pour wine system, and The Grove Chop House, a steakhouse that will cook meats over a wood fire and finish them in a 1,000-degree charcoal oven.

If Dice Versa takes off here, down the road Dethier said he’d love to expand it to Buffalo or Syracuse.

“I can’t imagine it being nationwide. But I would love to just keep going with it, giving that service to people,” he said.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Dice Versa board game lounge to open in Rochester NY