Owner Malika Jacobs opened Kingmakers in January of 2014 and her 80 seat ‘basement lounge’ on Buttles Avenue is in the heart of Columbus’ Short North arts district. A board game parlour at its core, Kingmakers is also a hip, trendy gathering spot for suburbanites, yuppies, downtown dwellers, millennials, families and more. During non-business hours, the space is available for holiday parties, corporate and private events. Her space offers not only a wide selection of games and tables on which to play, but a menu of fine beers, wines, soft drinks and snacks.
When guests arrive at Kingmakers, they’re greeted by a ‘Board Game Sommelier’, a trained guide that will recommend and explain how to play one of the approximately 550 in stock games that offer a wide range in skill level, time required to play, and type of play. “They’ll figure out which games are the best fit for your group and then let the good times roll,” she said.
As a sole proprietor, the Ohio State University MBA graduate is proud that Kingmakers is approaching their two year anniversary in the Short North. “There is a lot of opportunity for my business to grow here in the City of Columbus, as they’re growing fast as well,” she said. She left a corporate retail job in San Francisco to open Kingmakers in Columbus after seeing a similar board game parlour on a visit to Toronto and said “I knew Columbus was open to new concepts and that we would be successful here.”
Heartland Bank Commercial Relationship Manager, Kelly Law, met Malika through mutual friends/bank clients, all products of the Ohio State University MBA program, who “mimic the entrepreneurial culture we support here at Heartland,” according to Kelly. He enjoys checking in with his client Malika, and taking his extended family to Kingmakers for relaxing evenings of board games.
Whether you’re looking for a ‘You sunk my Battleship’ kind of evening or maybe just an hour focusing on ‘Crafting a medieval French landscape of roads, farms and fortresses while strategically positioning respective knights and thieves across unguarded turf to score points’, you’ll find a great space to do it at Kingmakers. Heartland Bank may not be able to protect that ship docked at B-12 or get your knight through the French landscape, but we can certainly help you make your next move to financial success. Stop by one of our 12 central Ohio locations and let us show you how much fun banking can be.