If you’re looking for a place to roll the dice, battle a dragon or simply grab a burger, there’s a gaming oasis in Chaska, Minnesota, that has all three.
The Forge opened in 2021 with a goal of creating more than just a place to buy games and cards.
“We’ve just been trying to create a place for people to feel safe and have a fun time playing board games and card games and all that kind of stuff,” owner Robert Cormican said.
If you’re a gamer, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for at The Forge: board games, trading cards, arcade games and more.
Cormican said he wanted The Forge to have a strong community focus.
“I wanted to open one that’s a little bit different and kind of push it more into the community aspect of it rather than, you know, sell, sell, sell,” he said.
Some events are free, while others have low fees to make it easier for people to participate. It’s a full calendar, too, with weekly “Pokémon,” paint and hobby hangouts, “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Magic: The Gathering” meet ups.
But what makes the shop even more unique is a sister restaurant literally right next door: The Bellows Bistro. The restaurant carries the fantasy theme into its food and atmosphere, designed to feel like a tavern straight out of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
“You come in and you feel like you’re in a tavern,” Cormican said. “There’s some dwarves mining in the back, and there’s some warriors outside battling a dragon, and also delicious food is just coming to your table.”
Before opening the game store, Cormican spent years working in the restaurant industry. Opening the two together made sense.
At the Bellows Bistro, you won’t drink cocktails, but potions and elixirs. Some drinks are even designed to change color when ingredients are mixed together.
Patrons can munch on tavern classics like fried mashed potato and cheese “Beholder Bites,” “Blacksmith Burger” topped with a fried egg and candied bacon, and garlic, herb and parmesan fries called “White Tower Fries.”
Bellows Bistro also hosts trint events
For the brave, and a particularly large appetite, there’s the Beholder Challenge. The massive meal includes fries topped with pulled pork, ranch and barbecue sauce, eight burger patties, 16 pieces of cheese, three chicken-fried chicken breasts, vegetables, sauces and a Beholder Bite on top. The challenge costs $60, but anyone who finishes it in 30 minutes gets the meal for free — along with a T-shirt.
So far, Cormican said no one has successfully completed the challenge.
The Forge and Bellows Bistro are located off Pioneer Trail in Chaska.
WCCO is always looking for local businesses to highlight in its Homegrown MN series.
If you know of a Minnesota business that should be featured, email Beret Leone at Beret.Leone@cbs.com.
