Our 'first-Wednesday-of-the-month' meetings can no longer take place at the Summers Street Capitol Roasters. There has been a schedule change at the coffee shop, which now closes at 7pm. That doesn't jive with our 6pm to 8pm meeting time.
And so we need a new place to meet. Taylor Books is out, because their tables are too small. I think the food court at the mall is out since it's so noisy there.
Our club is full of smart people...ideas anyone?
Posts
2 months ago
Do they have meeting rooms at the downtown library? No food, but I think it meets the other requirements.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we should gainsay the Town Center Mall. This is our once a month meeting that is shorter and more informal than the Saturday meetings. Maybe it will be a little noisy but it would be great visibility for sparking interest in the club.
ReplyDeleteIf they would allow us there, the mall might be something worth looking at a little closer. I'll agree it's a little loud and maybe, but the traffic might be high enough that there would be at least some potential Scrabble players walking by. At least it's open until 9:00.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I can't think of any place. If the mall were out, I'd wonder if we didn't need to head back out to Southridge.
The only thing I dislike about the mall is the fee for the parking building. Granted, you feed the meters at Roasters if you get there before 6:00 (or take your chances with the local parking gestapo... er, meter maids... er, "parking enforcement officers"), but the most that's going to cost is 40 cents or so. It's what, a couple of bucks to park in the mall now?
ReplyDeleteNot that a couple of bucks is huge amount of money or anything, but it could be a deterrent to some, and the fewer of those, the better.
Yes, but how many people would get exposed to the club by seeing us play that we might not otherwise reach? We still have the free parking meetings on Saturdays for the fugal minded.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I can't think of a better place either other than taking over part of the library. I'm not sure they could kick us out if we were being quiet.
Ok... we've mulled this over for a bit and thrown a few ideas around. Here are the suggestions so far and a list of pros and cons for each - none of which are exclusive or showstoppers.
ReplyDeleteTown Center Mall
Pros
* Exposure to the masses
* Lots of food choices
* Potential to expand the meeting to 9:00
Cons
* $1.75 per car for parking
* Not exactly an "intellectual" type of place (yeah, that's snobby)
* Noise factor - depends on exact location within the building
Kanawha County Public Library
Pros
* Very close to Roasters, so someone could redirect people with old information
* Quiet (duh, it's a library)
Cons
* Will have to move again when the new library is completed
* They may decide we are having a "meeting" by their definition and want to move us into a room and/or charge us
* Summer and winter hours vary, which could impact us
Books-A-Million
Pros
* Familiarity
* Ample free parking
Cons
* BAM is nearly vacant on weeknights
* Corridor G traffic after work has potential suckitude
* Not as "downtown" as other places
In my mind there's a delicate balance between having lots of people seeing us play and having a fairly undisturbed place to do so.
I'm also trying to be objective about this, but I'll state for the record I am fairly pissed at Capitol Roasters for dissing us. I'm aware this was a business decision that wasn't directed at us per se, but it was definitely an unappreciated slap in the face.
Another suggestion I've heard is to make Wednesday a roving meeting with a different location each time. That sounds interesting and perhaps somewhat poetic, but also implies a certain instability - plus we'd have to go through this decision-making process once a month, which I'd rather not do.
With all that said, this discussion is still open. I'd like to have something firmly in place before the Lexington tournament so I can get the website updated, notify the NSA, and generally get the word out well in advance. If you've strong opinions about any of the places and/or pros and cons associated with each, or have a completely different idea, speak up soon.
Thank you all very much for your support and suggestions.
I've heard that we're not the only group who is pissed off at Capitol Roasters for ending the days early.
ReplyDeleteI'm still inclined to think of the Wednesday meeting as recruiting time ... so noise isn't going to bother me so much ... but I know it bothers some more than others.
Two more suggestions have come in...
ReplyDelete1. Los Agaves in South Charleston.
2. The Bears Den on Capitol Street.
Discuss away.
Ohhhhhh...the Bear's Den might be cool! What are their hours? (I tried to find out online but couldn't.)
ReplyDelete