Chilliwack – NOVEMBER 7 UPDATE – It’s NOT what you want to hear about a small business, with a bright future and the financial realty of the times , catches up.
Serene stay and Play was a fantastic concept of a coffee shop, board games and meeting place. Snuggled next to Chilliwack Staples, it seems that the future was positive.
That was May and even with a spurt of income from holding events such as the BC Conservatives meeting prior to the 2026 election,m that was not enough to ay the bills.
A GoFundMe was set up but it clearly could not help financially.
Saturday November 7 was the last day of business.
From Jenny Sawatzky: Unfortunately we have had to accept the reality that we need to make the hard decision to close our doors this month. We are returning all the donations of our wonderful friends and family as we no longer will be fundraising for “Free Games for All”.
MAY 2026 ORIGINAL STORY – Jenny Sawatzky along with her husband created Serene Stay & Play Cafe. After seeing a similar business idea in Abbotsford, they made the leap to create a similar experience in Chilliwack.
Located in a tiny strip mall next to Staples (off Vedder), Jenny told FVN that while the BIA does a marvelous job promoting Downtown, something in the tourism sector was lacking for a part of Sardis, let alone Sardis in general.
BTW – Vedder Press is play testing their new Dungeons and Dragons 5e 1st to 3rd level adventure at Serene Stay and Play Café on May 23, June 6 and June 13 from 4pm to 8pm. 6 players are needed to adventure on the Isle of Cats; pre-generated characters will be provided. The adventure is a murder mystery in the southern town of Port Ines. The players are in town during a wedding when someone uses the knife used to cut the wedding cake to steal a magical gem and murder the cleric that was guarding the gem. The towns meager police force of three people is not capable of closing off the road and port to prevent the criminal(s) from escaping or stopping an impending disaster when the noble guest for surrounding towns panic and try to flee. They need heroes.
The event is $5 paid in advance; players must be 16+ years of age. The store has a copy of the Players Handbook, the DM has dice, pencils and other things you will need. If you’re interested, sign u here: https://serenestayandplaycafe.com/…/d-and-d-play…
