News

Board game library with taps coming to Main Street

Kingmaker’s Draft will offer eight taps and dozens of board games.

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 1, 2019

Board game enthusiasts can soon visit a parlor with plenty of options on Main Street.

Jan and Kurt Darnell are planning to open the Kingmaker’s Draft at 101 S. Main St. in the historic 1846 Ripley Building.
The couple, who moved to Hendersonville from Texas about a year ago, noticed the ground floor space for rent and began planning the game room and tavern. The county issued a building permit last December and a renewal permit in May for a new bar, food prep area and game library in the 1,630-square-foot space on the corner of Main and West First Avenue.
Kurt and his wife had seen the board game concept in Austin, Texas.
“As soon as we started doing it, that Well Played ended up opening in Asheville,” he said. Kingmaker’s will be “very similar to Well Played.”
The food offerings will run to things like cheeseboards and other items that can be prepared on site without cooks and a commercial kitchen. “We won’t have an extensive menu because of where we are,” Darnell said, pointing out that there are at least five well-established restaurants within a block. They plan eight taps with local craft beer.
“We’ve been talking to some of the breweries already,” he said. “We met with the Sanctuary (Brewing Co.) owners.”
Although Darnell and his wife haven’t run a tavern, he said their backgrounds make for a good balance.
“I’ve been in the corporate world most of my life and she’s done most of the restaurant work,” he said.
A contractor will need 10-12 more weeks to renovate the space, he said. For now, he’s planning on being open every day but Tuesday.