Board game cafe rebrands, renovates and reopens new space in Easton’s West Ward

A look inside the new Mystery Box Games location at 1458 Northampton St.Courtesy of Mystery Box Games

With a new location in a new part of town, it only made sense for the business formerly known as Punch Out to opt for a new name, too. Meet Mystery Box Games.

Mystery Box Games, the pop-up game business-turned-brick-and-mortar board game cafe, is off to a new start in new digs after leaving Downtown Easton in the spring. The new Mystery Box spot at 1458 Northampton St. is open for business after a fast renovation brought the business’ signature vibe and shelves of board games to the west end of the West Ward.

Owners Mik Matiss and Barbara Vasconez left their downtown location on May 14 after less than a year, following a landlord-tenant dispute. They quickly found their current location, signed the dotted line and got to work making it their own.

A look inside the new Mystery Box Games location at 1458 Northampton St.Courtesy of Mystery Box Games

“We got the keys and, within a month, were able to open up,” Matiss said. The renovations they did are akin to the aesthetic of the new location’s predecessor — brightly painted walls, eclectic and retro art, a psychedelic checkerboard pattern and, of course, tons and tons of games lining every inch of shelf space.

There’s a kitchen in the back corner awaiting city permits before it’s operational. When it’s up and running, the menu will be have healthier options that the initial location, Vasconez said. Matiss credits Vasconez with keeping her foot on the gas to get through the bureaucratic elements of opening a business, like obtaining kitchen permits.

They’re optimistic everything will have come together for a grand opening, for which they’re circling October on the calendar.

The location at 14th and Northampton streets is a far cry from the middle of Downtown Easton. That gets Vasconez and Matiss excited.

“We’re offering something to West Ward residents that they haven’t been offered much,” Vasconez said, “because the focus has always been downtown.”

This also makes attending easier for Mystery Box’s dedicated fanbase, which comes from all around and even outside the Lehigh Valley. Downtown can get crowded and parking can get expensive. That’s not a problem in the business’ new spot. There’s ample, free street parking and some lot spaces available.

That’s important for a business who, in its first few months of running a brick-and-mortar, learned a lot about its fanbase. When the business initially opened, Matiss and Vasconez were optimistic the then-Punch Out Games cafe would be a place where someone could discover downtown and hang out playing games for a couple of hours.

“That didn’t work as well as we thought it would,” Matiss said. “People coming into town to eat and drink and shop don’t have two hours to kill. People who know what we do and come to Easton for us. We’re catering to them. We’re smaller but geared more towards people who want to play games.”

“It’s definitely more intimate,” Vasconez said.

A look inside the new Mystery Box Games location at 1458 Northampton St.Courtesy of Mystery Box Games

The revised strategy works for the regular events they’re bringing back, like dedicated evenings for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and the Magic: The Gathering card game, as well as activities like the juggling club Matiss started.

Mystery Box’s hours are generally the same as its previous iteration, though the owners said that they’re feeling out how the community approaches the new location. So far, activity has skewed towards later hours rather than during the day.

It’s all a part of making sure their second go at being Easton’s first board game cafe is a success, and with the community of supporters they’d built in such a short time, there’s plenty of reason for optimism.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at [email protected].

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