Critical    Grind

UPDATES LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS: In case you weren't aware, Critical Grind is a great place to get some work done. During the day, the Expansion Room usually has a couple people working at the tables and body-doubling for each other. Sometimes I even leave my office and set up. Sunday, Mother's Day, we welcomed Brooke's Cakery to the cafe for their pop-up! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to support them. We restocked this week on dice and TCG sleeves! ANNOUNCEMENTS: SAVE

UPDATES ALL PREVIOUS LORCANA ITEMS (EXCEPT BOOSTER PACKS & SINGLES) ARE CURRENTLY 25% OFF! Moms & Grandmas Play for FREE on Sunday, this Mother's Day. LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS: Ash worked really hard on our decorations for our Alice in Wonderland theme this month. In case you missed it, we're celebrating our UN-Birthday. we don't often get to celebrate our anniversary so we've decided to celebrate our 6 month as an Unbirthday with a Wonderland theme. We had a great time at Fabu

UPDATES Our hours are permanently changing to: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9am - 9pm Wednesday: 9am - 3pm Friday & Saturday: 9am - 11pm Sunday: 9am - 6pm LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS: Last week was busy but we didn't get a lot of photos. We got in the new Character Packs for Daggerheart. They're $19.99 each and have everything you need to play various characters. Dana was set up at Shorewood Glen Senior Living Community on Saturday talking about the importance of playing games and s

UPDATES Our hours are permanently changing to: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9am - 9pm Wednesday: 9am - 3pm Friday & Saturday: 9am - 11pm Sunday: 9am - 6pm LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : So much fun this past week! Board Game Night on Tuesday we played Solar Gardens and Sea Salt and Paper. RPG Nights we're full. Joliet Pride Network's monthly Gayme Night came out on Thursday. Our Magic Prerelease and Blood on the Clocktower were very busy (so busy we didn't get photos). Dana did a pop

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : Thank you to everyone who came out this past week! We wouldn't be here without all of you. A special shoutout to the customers who made us these beautiful origami roses. I'm not sure if you'll see this but they're so pretty and they made our day! Did you stop by on Sunday to see Andrea of Sowers Creations and all her adorable little critters. ANNOUNCEMENTS : SAVE THE DATES! Monday,

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : We had so much fun with everyone visiting us last week for Spring Break. Thank you to everyone who stopped in! We had a blast at Game of Tones music Bingo on Thursday. Join us for the next one on May 7th. Dana also got the chance to GM for an employee engagement event at a local small business, BKS - Business Knowledge Systems. If anyone can think of any small business interested in

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : Not a lot to post about last week. It was kinda slow for being Shorewood's Spring Break. We're hoping this week will be a little busier while some of the other schools are on Spring Break this week. As a reminder, we're closed this Sunday for Easter. ANNOUNCEMENTS : We are officially selling TCGs on TCGPlayer.com . Check out our online store! We're also currently taking Pre-orders in

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : T.B. Sweet Creations came in and did a Cake Decorating class with us. We had some people drop in for our Coloring Meetup (3rd Mondays)! Our TCG Night was busy with Lorcana and our Magic the Gathering Two-Headed Giant Commander Tournament. Creator Meetup was a fun and chill time. And we got new Grimbeard Leather products in this past week! ANNOUNCEMENTS : This has been here for a whil

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : Kim and Dana set up at the Troy Craughwell Family Game Night this past week. We got to meet a bunch of new families and introduce them to Critical Grind, and new games! Dana ran a Boop Learn to Play on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who came out to play this weekend! ESPECIALLY our Girl Scout Cookie Pop-Up on Sunday! ANNOUNCEMENTS : It's been highly anticipated but we're slowly brin

UPDATES ((thinking of making these permanent... what do we think??)) LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : Sorry I missed last week's newsletter. It was the first one I'd missed in over a year and I felt pretty bad about it. But I was recovering from a heart...episode... so I'm going to give myself the same grace I would extend to anyone else. I sincerely wish to thank everyone who's come into the cafe or reached out to me over the last week+. For those who missed it, I was in the hospita

UPDATES LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS : We had a lot of fun this past week. Thank you to everyone who came out to play on your day off last Monday. I had the honor of presenting at the Above & Beyond Networkers breakfast on Wednesday where I taught a room of 30-or so entrepreneurs and business professionals about Role-Playing Games and running them through a brief encounter. We had a fun time on Wednesday with our After Hours 2-Player Date Night. Friday was the Lorcana: Winterspell

UPDATES HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : We had a great time over the weekend at Polar Vortex Convention in Lisle. This was Polar Vortex' 10th year. It's usually the 2nd weekend in February so, mark your calendars for next year! Meanwhile, back at the cafe, the team rocked a great weekend full of events including the Lorcana Winterspell Prerelease Pack Rush, Kids RPG Night, My Bloody Valentine on the Clocktower, and more! We're introducing a new series of events: UNLOCKED After H

UPDATES HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : We're introducing a new series of events: UNLOCKED After Hours. Once a month we're going to host an after hours event on a Wednesday night. Last month we had a floor painting party. This month we're hosting a Date Night for Valentine's Day. Wednesday, February 18th from 6pm - 9pm. It's only $35 per couple. We'll be highlighting 2-player games with a Game Master to help teach the games, and 2 Specialty Toasts from a Special Menu, made just

UPDATES HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : We had such a great weekend! Our first Local Author Book Fair on Saturday was a roaring success and we look forward to hosting another one. Special thank you for Audi Hart Creations for coming out for our Pop-Up on Sunday! We officially have Boxed Coffee To-Go. 128oz for pick-up available for your next event or meeting. $30/Box. This Week's Event Highlights This is a quick look at this week's events. And of course any day is Game Day at Cr

UPDATES HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : We just received new dice & enamel pins from Mystery Dice Goblin AND we've restocked Toasty Toasts! The fun, travel sized game about building the best toasts for points. This Week's Event Highlights This is a quick look at this week's events. And of course any day is Game Day at Critical Grind. Just stop in anytime and find your next favorite game. Follow our newsletter and socials to never miss an event! Every link you need to follow us

UPDATES For some reason my update last week didn't send via email so, if you missed it, feel free to check it out here. HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : We're halfway through January already. Have you tried our January specials? The Red Dragon Inn Refresher is amazing. The Lorwyn Eclipsed Magic Prerelease was a success! Between our pre-orders and people showing up on Friday we've sold out of the bundles and commanders. We have a few of the 60-card standard decks left and booster

UPDATES I sent out our Annual Grind Newsletter last week. It's the annual recap of the cafe goals and accomplishments, as well as setting new goals for the next year. Give it a look if you're interested. HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : I had the honor of planning the 2025 Holiday/2026 Kick-Off Party for Above and Beyond Networkers this last weekend. It was an evening of celebrating small businesses and enjoying our community. The event was at The Parsonage in downtown Plainfiel

UPDATES I sent out our Annual Grind Newsletter earlier. It's the annual recap of the cafe goals and accomplishments, as well as setting new goals for the next year. HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : Ash is officially celebrating his 2 year work-a-versary today, January 5th! I can't believe it's been 2 years since he started working here. We couldn't imagine this place without him. The staff went out last night for an Appreciation Dinner. Went to Sovereign in Plainfield and had an

Welcome to 2026! A forewarning, this post is gonna be quite the read. A couple years ago this was two posts. Last year I made it just one and while it makes it long, I think it's better this way. I wanted to get this out closer to the 1st but the last few days have been busy. A YEAR IN REVIEW First a little lore: 16 years ago, I started a tradition for the New Year that instead of creating resolutions I wouldn't keep, I would make a list of tangible goals. Some of them are me

UPDATES Some of you may know but every year I do a recap of the previous year and our goals for the next. Hopefully that email will be finished and sent out Thursday or Friday. HIGHLIGHTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS : Wednesday, we'll be open until 3pm and closed Thursday. Critical Grind is excited to be working with a newer non-profit this year, Love Smiles. They are collecting new books, puzzles, toys, board games, and coloring supplies for pediatric cancer patience. The ages for item