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A new café stacked with board games is coming to Godalming town centre offering food, drink, and competitive fun. Wayfarer’s rest is the dream of Sarah Lister and Katie Thompson, two
passionate locals who want to share their love for gaming and fantastic coffee with the community. Katie and Sarah are already hosting a successful board games club and a kids’ Dungeons and
Dragons group in Godalming. Now that they have a space for it, the women are eager to engage with the local community to explore the types of activities they would like to see offered. The
game lovers also have plans for trading card tournaments and roleplaying game sessions that they’re excited to bring to life. Sarah will be managing the events, board game library, and
retail stock. A huge fan of tabletop roleplaying games, she has three to four running at any given moment. She said: “I see myself as a bit of a facilitator and with the [Wayfarer’s] Rest,
I’ll have a dedicated space where I can facilitate games, hear people’s stories of their own adventures, see friendships grow, witness their joy as they share in this hobby that I love; it’s
a dream come true.” Katie will be looking after all things food and drink, as well as our hospitality, team building, and training. Katie loves cooking, telling stories, writing songs, and
creating worlds. Her years of experience as a Specialty Coffee Trainer also give her a great understanding of coffee. Katie shared: “I’m blown away by the support we’ve had from the
Godalming community along the way. "I moved here from London to be closer to Sarah and to make this dream of opening our own place a reality. We’ve had some extraordinary help from
incredible people and I cannot wait to open this space up for them as much as for us!” The idea for Wayfarer’s Rest sparked in Sarah and Katie’s heads over six years ago but was halted by
the pandemic. Instead, they pivoted to setting up an online community. Their online server currently has 484 members, and online games are still going strong. The café will be open for after
school entertainment or epic weekend adventures. There will be trading card games like the Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering, and roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons or Candela
Obscura. The café’s retail area will be a treasure trove of games, trading cards, accessories, nerdy paraphernalia and products from local artists and suppliers. The venue will also serve
fresh, specialty coffee, a selection of loose-leaf teas and a variety of hot drinks. Don’t forget to indulge in cakes, snacks and light bites to enjoy in or take away. Katie and Sarah
anticipate that the café will open in June and will be located at 46 High Street, Godalming GU7 1DY. Anyone with ideas is encouraged to get in touch via the website as well as Facebook,
Instagram, and TikTok accounts.