The Sending Stone: Minneapolis Gaming Café & Bar

Coffee. Drinks. Kitchen. Gaming. Under one roof in South Minneapolis.

The Sending Stone is opening this fall in southern Minneapolis as a hospitality venue built from the ground up for people who want to spend time with friends and fellow adventurers in 2026.

The Sending Stone will be open from the morning to late at night, being a space available to you for tons of possibilities. You can show up first thing for a flat white with 22 grams of protein, or drop in after work to join in at a board game pickup table and have dinner with a menu that doesn’t pressure you to drink. Book that private room for the long TTRPG session you’ve been hoping for, or simply sit at a table and relax while catching up with friends.

This is the kind of place we wanted to see more of in the Twin Cities, so we're building it.

(For the curious: the name comes from the TTRPG magic item - paired stones that let two people communicate over any distance. A gathering place does the same thing, made concrete.)

The Sending Stone is built around three things that work together:

1. A bar and café that respects what you came in for. A six-tap rotating beer program leaning hard into Twin Cities breweries. A focused bar design created for slow sipping while you play. A coffee program anchored on offering high-protein café and non-alcoholic beverage options, showcasing the amount of protein in each drink - because in 2026, people care about what's precisely in each drink. Non-alcoholic options are thoughtfully placed on our menu also as a result of your feedback.

2. A kitchen built for the night you want. We will have options for every customer.  You can order the salad on Tuesday, the sliders on Friday. It’ll be the same kitchen with the same menu, no judgment. Every item shows it protein count. Here’s a few menu highlights so you can picture what will be waiting for you: 

• Druid’s Touch Salad with chicken or tofu for a quick lunch
• Mystic Rice Bowl with teriyaki chicken for that after work meal
• A flaky Traveler’s Hand Pie for an easy meal in between your turns
• Adventurer Sliders, perfect for sharing with your table
• Stoneforge Breakfast Sandwiches paired with any of our coffee options
• Sweet Hand Pies those late night game sessions
  
  The kitchen is designed without a fryer, letting us keep the air cleaner, the menu lighter, and the food easier to enjoy around character sheets, dice, cards, and meeples.
  
  Our fantasy-inspired menu, equipment plan, and kitchen staffing model were built from scratch by Jamie Perez, whose amazing craftsmanship helped shape this part of the Sending Stone. 

3. Three dedicated tabletop gaming rooms. One on the main floor, two on the second. The Sending Stone is built for RPG groups, board game events, TCG tournaments, and drop-in pickup play. Climate-controlled. Properly lit. Sized right. 

A $12 cover gets you in the door and includes access to our 200+ board game library for all-day play. And a Founding Member program for regulars who want an easier, regular way to drop in each week.

Who's Building This

I'm Adam Douglass. For the last seven years I've been an electrical engineer designing renewable energy systems (solar and battery storage) from the residential scale (one solar panel or less) all the way up to utility scale (sometimes 500,000 solar panels or more). I've also been a Magic: The Gathering player for longer, and a board game enthusiast for about twice the time of that. The Twin Cities community is one of the best in the country, and watching people come together in response to recent events has been nothing short of inspiring. I wanted to create something I love to share and give back to the wonderful community we are so grateful to be joining.

This isn't a solo project:

Andrew Galvez runs the venue as our General Manager. Andy has rich experience in Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, and management in various fields. In general, he is highly regarded as an unstoppable force of nature, lighting up the room and making everyone feel at home.

Manda Galvez is our Media Director. Manda has great experience in graphic design, branding, and social media operations in many distinct areas, and her attention to detail and creativity brings any endeavor she touches to life, bringing a light to the project that only she can offer.

Taylor Douglass is going to be helping us in front-of-house as one of our hospitality partners. Taylor has deep experience in interior design, customer service, ministry for the LGBTQ+ community, DM'ing, and an all-around impeccable wit and fun demeanor. Their smile lights up my world, and their support is the biggest reason why The Sending Stone is coming to life. I couldn't do it without them.

Wyldwolf Games focuses on bringing epic adventures to life through inclusive and immersive storytelling and experiences. With them, every journey becomes a story, and every challenge a memorable triumph. Wyldwolf is leading experiences throughout several of the reward tiers below, and we are proud to collaborate with them.

Where We Are Right Now

The lease for our space is being negotiated, and our build-out is planned to begin this summer with Dering Pierson Group as our general contractor. Our brand identity is finalized, our financial model has been tested across a range of realistic scenarios, and SBA financing is in underwriting alongside personal investment from our founding team. 

This is real, substantially funded, and moving forward. 

What we are raising on Kickstarter helps us accomplish two important things. 

First, it helps us build the community we want to open with. The Sending Stone only works if it has regulars from day one. Every backer becomes part of our founding community through your name on our wall, your energy at opening events, and your input as we shape the space. 

Second, it funds the experience layer. Beyond the main build-out, these are the pieces that make a venue feel like home instead of just another listing online. That includes the opening week programming, the first run of Wyldwolf-led RPG events, the launch of our beverage program, the Founding Member rollout, and the small touches that help a new venue become a place people come back to.

Rewards:
$10 - The Cantrip. A Kickstarter-exclusive vinyl sticker and our gratitude. The simplest way to show support.
$35 - The Adventurer. Be there opening night. Includes our exclusive launch t-shirt, pin, sticker, and access to a Wyldwolf-led grand opening event.
$75 - The Esteemed Regular. Esteemed Member status, seven game library passes, and your name permanently on our Founders' Wall.
$150 - The Patron. A reserved table for you and 5 friends on our main floor, plus six game library passes for your party so everyone plays.
$200 - The Wyldwolf Quest. A fully bespoke 3-4 hour custom one-shot adventure, designed for your group and run by a Wyldwolf GM at The Sending Stone. Limited.
$300 and above. Lifetime recognition tiers - name a seat, sponsor an adventure, become a permanent part of what we open with. Limited counts.

We've also partnered with Wyldwolf Games for unique add-ons like Wyldwolf SWAG, opening-night packs, and custom GM sessions that any backer can attach to any tier.

Why Kickstarter?

We're not raising bridge financing or just asking the internet to fund what a bank will fund. The capital stack is largely committed.

Kickstarter gives us a great opportunity to put the people who matter most to the venue, the people who will walk in and get involved starting day one, at the center of the launch. Every backer is a stakeholder, and every dollar pledge is a vote for the kind of third place we’re building. 

When you back us, you aren’t just buying a product. You’re helping us build a venue that you’ll be welcome in for years to come. 

Open It With Us

If this sounds like the place you've been waiting for, back us. Share the campaign with the group chat that already plays D&D every other Wednesday, the friend who keeps asking where to find a quiet third place that isn't a corporate coffee chain, the cousin who's been on a fitness kick and asks about protein in everything.

We open this fall.

Let's open it together.

-Adam, Andy, Manda, Taylor, and The Sending Stone team