The Annual Grind - January 5th, 2026

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 measurable, and some of them are strictly opinion-based. And since it's like a bucket list, but it's only for the year... I've been calling it a Bowl List.

Here was Critical Grind's 2025 Bowl List and how well we did at accomplishing these goals.

*Take a class. Marketing, Accounting, Latte Art... whatever. Something to learn more.

I took a Marketing Course and hired an accountant. I'll count this done.

*Social Media Presence: 5,000 Followers on Facebook, 1,250 Followers on Instagram,

2,000 Followers on TikTok [if it still exists]

We added 1,000 Followers on Bluesky as a goal as well.

Final totals - Facebook: 4,030. Instagram: 1,059. TikTok: 1,352. Bluesky: 119

*The Weekly Grind, this newsletter, returns weekly

I am proud to say I sent 1 Newsletter update EVERY WEEK for 2025.

*15% growth in customers

Our system made an unnecessary update and I can no longer run this report to see if I made this goal. We're gonna say yes just based on interactions with customers who say they found us for the first time this year.

*Adjust the Patreon

I did not get to this. I know changes need to be made. I know something isn't quite working here. But I don't know what, yet.

*More & Accessible Merch

Little Toast Guy got a make-over and his own enamel pins and stickers.

We're aiming for Critical Grind keychains, hats, and mugs this year. Shirts are still available print-to-order on our website.

*More events with disability services, transition programs, and retirement facilities.

I am honored with the number of organizations who have come out for Field Trips this past year. I would love to see more retirement or 55+ communities but the transitions programs have been amazing. I love having them here and can't wait to plan more in the coming year.

*More local business collaborations

We had Blooming Succulents back for a few planting workshops, Ten Cups Tarot was here with Tarot Readings, Social Reader hosted a Grown-Up Book Fair, the Joliet Library and the Shorewood Library have been hosting events with us, we started Creator Pop-Ups on the 1st Sunday of the Month, and we hosted 8 delicious Pop-Up Bakers. I'm hoping to do more with local breweries, cafes, libraries, and other game stores this year.

*Start a podcast

I did that. Critical Community was a lot of fun. I appreciate all my guests. You can still listen to past episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Podbean. But this was a lot more time consuming and stressful than I expected it to be. I couldn't dedicate the time to it that was necessary to make it successful. I still plan to bring a spotlight to our community, but I think this year it will look more like quick interviews on short-form video. Now, to get over my anxiety of being on camera.

*Grow Lodge Con

Lodge Con was a huge success this year. We several events thanks to the amazing members of our community. We had a great vendor set-up, AND we expanded our cafe offerings at Lodge Con. Teh convention itself had record numbers and in 2026 will be expanding to a 3-day convention. So, save the date for November 6, 7, & 8.

*More of the following events: To-the-table, Publisher Play, Designer Day, Craft Shows,

Painting Events, Literary Events, After Hours I don't recall any official To-The-Table events this year, but several people coordinated meetups in our Discord. We hosted Grand Gamers Guild for a Publisher Play. We hosted 2 Designer Days. Decided instead of the Craft Shows we would highlight a different Creator each month. Painting events turned into mini-painting. Silent Book Club went away, but the Inkwells & Espresso writers group is expanding and we hosted an event for Write On Joliet. More After Hours events in the new year.

*Bring more people together through gaming!

I can confidently say we did this.

 In 2022 I started assigning a "word of the year." 2022 was Perseverance. 2023 was Flourish. 2024 was Balance. 2025 was Adaptability. Keep reading for 2026...

SHOUT OUTS - Getting a little sentimental

This part has started to become a little tradition. I would like to give a shout-out to some very special people in my life and the life of the cafe.

Shaun, my love: My partner in life of 14 years and in business for 7. Shaun works full-time, takes care of our kiddo, takes care of the house, and helps at Critical Grind when I need him. Critical Grind wouldn't exist if Shaun didn't believe in me and my dreams. He thinks big and makes me think anything is possible.

Kim, my darling: Critical Grind brought this beautiful woman into my life 2 years ago. I am grateful for her calming presence. She keeps my anxiety grounded and gives me space to be silly.

Saphira, my pancake: Saphira is now 13, an official teenager. My silly goofy kid, my empathetic sweetheart, or my walking talking ball of sass... I wouldn't have her any other way. Okay, maybe a little less sassy. But I love her anyway and she knows it.

Ashton [he/him]: Ash is the most senior of the cafe staff. He is my Number 2. My right-hand-man. He has stepped up in a lot of ways this year and has shown a lot of growth. I couldn't imagine this place without him.

Rudy [he/him]: Rudy will be celebrating 2 years with us this May. It's amazing what 2 years can do. Aside from Curator, Rudy has added Game Master to his roles here. This year, Rudy has been running a majority of our TCG Tournaments, helping teach games at Pop-Up Games Nights, GMing for our RPG Birthday Parties, and running TCG and RPG Learn-to-Play events.

Sean [they/them]: Sean joined us in April of this year. After being a semi-regular customer for a while, with an interest in working here, a position opened up and we were able to add them to the team. They bring their fun personality and a history of coffee experience and merchandising knowledge.

Ruby/Rubix [she/they]: Rubix joined the team in August. One of our go-to closers, Ruby has been doing a great job welcoming new customers and making everyone's experience a fun one. They're in beauty school as well so, while we know this isn't her final stop, we're thrilled to have her here now.

Jay [she/her]: Jay and her lovely wife Quincy own Liquid Kourage Entertainment. At the end of 2024/early 2025, Jay and Quincy essentially saved Critical Grind by buying in as silent partners. We literally would not exist today if it wasn't for them. I don't have enough words for how much it means to me.

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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

In absolutely no particular order, these are some of the highlight events from this year.

FREE RPG DAY: We hosted over 25 RPG sessions in 1 day with the help of 9 volunteer DMs

QUEER VARIETY SHOWS & FABULOUS BINGO: We held 3 All-Ages Queer Variety Shows this year and we several monthly Fabulous Bingo with the fabulous Jolene Jett. Each month a portion of the proceeds for the bingo cards went toward a different charity.

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER: Our 3rd annual murder mystery dinner was a rousing success. From the fantastic catering, to our wonderful host, to the creative costumes by all our participants, it was a lot of fun and I hope we could do it again.

KIDS RPG: Kids RPG Night has been going really well. This year we've grown so much we actually need at least 3 GMs to keep up with demand, but we don't have enough. Anyone wanna tap in?

BIRTHDAY PARTIES, TEAM BUILDING, AND MORE: Critical Grind had the honor of being a part of SO many people's birthdays this year. We've hosted team-building events for companies, library meet-ups, book clubs, craft circles, groups making protest signs, and so much more!

MISFIT THANKSGIVING: Another tradition we kept this year was our Misfit Thanksgiving. Anyone who didn't have a place to go, was welcome to join us for a pot-luck style meal and some board games.

POP-UP BAKERIES: We hosted several pop-up bakeries this year.

Dessert First, Gallaher Sourdough, Oh My Gateau, Your Sweet Avenue, Blue Heron Bagels, A Jill of All Treats, Poundcake Bakery, & Sourdough You Know

POP-UP CREATORS: For the first time this year, we started hosting pop-up creators. We only had a few but next year will be many more. Sowers Creations, Hearthglow Studios, and Sainan Books

WORKSHOPS & MORE: It's not just bakeries we like to support. We hosted pretty successful collaborations this year with Blooming Succulents, Ten Cups Tarot, Glam Bat Studios, and Social Reader

GRINDHOUSE ARENA: We hosted our 2nd Annual Grindhouse Arena. This is a battle-royale style grand melee event where players get a random D&D character and enter an arena to be the best. Proceeds for this event always go toward The Trevor Project.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD: Jay Borsom accomplished setting the Guinness World Record for "Longest Marathon as a Quizmaster" by running a trivia game at Critical Grind for 36-hours straight.

AMMA: Armored MMA is apparently a thing and a bunch of us had a great time streaming these matches at the cafe

PRESENTATION NIGHTS: We started Presentation Nights late in 2025. We've already learned so much from our presenters and can't wait to see what else we can learn.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS & UPDATES

A few highlights most of you are already aware of this year.

1. We were highlighted in Shorewood Neighbors Magazine.
   

   

2. JanasWorld, an influencer on Instagram spent some time here and posted about it.

3. Our Fabulous Bingo events raised $850 for various charities throughout the year.

4. We won Best in Family Recreation for the 2nd year in a row AND taken Best Birthday Party Venue!
   

   

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THE YEAR AHEAD

If you made it this far, kudos to you. If you jumped to this point... I don't blame you, that was a lot.

I hope you at least read the bit about the Bowl List because that's where we're gonna start here. If not, jump back up real quick so you understand what's happening.

2026 Critical Grind Bowl List

*Upgrade some of the broken furniture

*Social Media Presence: 5,500 Followers on Facebook, 2,000 Followers on Instagram,

2,500 Followers on TikTok

*The Weekly Grind, this newsletter, Keeping it Weekly!

*15% sales growth

*Mobile Coffee: Pop-Up Cart or Truck??

*Host 10 Birthday Parties

*Be a Vendor at 8 Shows/Cons/Fests

*Host 3 Off-Site Gaming Pop-Ups

*Create a Used Game Section to cycle out some of our library games.

*New Cafe Merch: Keychains, Mugs, & Hats

*Host 10 Field Trips

*Host more Publisher Play and Designer Day Events

*Bring more people together through gaming!

If you read the above you also read the part about the Word of the Year. If not, you can go back. But my word for 2026 is going to be Courage. I found myself holding back in a few aspects last year that kept us from reaching our full potential. I was anxious to be in front of the camera. I was scared to advertise for our drag events. I had a lot of ideas for content or events but a lack of courage and confidence kept me from perusing them. I'm not going to let it stop me in the new year. Acting with courage is a habit I need to develop this year.

CHANGES IN 2025

NEW HOURS:

If you haven't already noticed, we close at 3pm on Wednesdays. There is a pretty solid chance this will be a permanent change. Not only were our Wednesday nights very slow, but the idea of After Hours events doesn't really work if we're open late every day. So, if we close at 3pm on Wednesdays, we can easily host an After Hours special event on an occasional Wednesday. That said, we will keep Wednesdays a Free Play day, as we aren't open the whole 12 hours.

NEW MENU ITEMS:

We have found a system that works for our specials each month. We fine-tuned it this year and have determined, every month you'll see 3 beverages, (1 caffeinated like a latte or cold brew, 1 non-caffeinated as a smoothie or Italian soda, and 1 lightly caffeinated usually a refresher, chai, or matcha) and 2 toasts (1 sweet, and 1 savory).

We will also be introducing new Smoothies and Refreshers to the menu soon. We are switching from Dr. Smoothie products to Smartfruit. Some of the flavor options are the same and some are a little different. They're all delicious.

NEW VENTURE:

Alright, well technically this isn't a Critical Grind venture. But it's under the umbrella and still exciting. Shaun and our friend Brixton have started their own venture called Critical Cheat Codes, or CX3. It's eSports Tournament event hosting. They will be hosting eSports Tournaments at Critical Grind on Wednesday Nights starting January 22nd.

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Here is the January Calendar... but it's Monday so the 1st Official Weekly Grind of 2026 will be following this email.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for an amazing year. We can't wait to see what 2026 brings.