Gaming-themed Rook Cafe coffee house opens on Freret Street

The latest new business on Freret Street is Rook Cafe, which is now open and serving hot and cold coffee drinks in a space meant to serve the New Orleans tabletop gaming community.

Proprietors Scott Solo and Roxanne Guidry, both veterans of the city’s coffee and service industries, held a grand opening last Friday for the space in the busy 4500 block of Freret Street, between Sarita’s and Wayfare. The menu already has a selection of hot and cold coffee and tea drinks, and Solo said they will soon begin featuring a rotating selection of French pastries from a baker they met through the Freret Market.

“We tried her stuff and we absolutely fell in love with it,” Solo said.

In the winter, they’ll add homemade soups, and next summer Solo plans to begin experimenting with frozen treats — coffee ice cubes and espresso pops, he said.

The walls are decorated with local art, the grand opening had live music, and Solo said he envisions Rook Cafe as a community center of sorts. While the cafe will stay quiet enough for studying, he also hopes it will be a place where people come to enjoy tabletop games.

“We want the nontraditional coffee-shop gaming community — chess, Go, Dungeons and Dragons,” Solo said. “All games are welcome.”

Settlers of Catan and similar role-playing games can be found around the shop, and Solo said he’ll be organizing a calendar of regular game nights starting next month.