Immersive D&D Inspired Restaurant And Amusement Center Planned In Lake Geneva

 

An immersive fantasy-themed restaurant will open in the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons in 2024. The Griffin & Gargoyle is a planned 350-seat restaurant that will open in Lake Geneva, best known to D&D fans as the home of Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons, and the headquarters for original D&D publisher TSR.

 

 

Described as an “immersive fantasy restaurant and amusement experience,” The Griffin & Gargoyle would include a 350-seat tavern, with servers and bartenders as actors in fantasy character; Curated Curiosities retail shop, selling handmade items from Etsy artists; The Gnome Alchemist, an upper-level “molecular mixology” bar, serving unconventional and dry-ice infused beverages; and the Barbarian in the Basement, a 12-lane axe throwing bar on the lower level. There would also be a separate building to host weddings and special events.

 

The 38,000-square-foot venue would be developed on 26 acres along state Highway 120, just north of U.S. Highway 12, with an opening slated for March 2024. That would mark 50 years since Dungeons & Dragons was first published by Lake Geneva-based Tactical Studies Rules.

 

The Griffin & Gargoyle is the brainchild of founding partners Michael Paylor and Daniel Colwell, who says the $11 million project is poised to draw visitors from far and wide.

 

“There’s a growing population looking for entertainment as they come to Lake Geneva, the area draws tourists year-round with its resorts, golf courses and fine dining

 

“That element of collaborative storytelling that you get around a gaming table, you can’t really replicate that anywhere else, There’s empathy building involved, exploring elements of your personality that you don’t get to in your day-to-day life, and there’s a whole new generation of kids that are just entering into the game now and finding it freeing.”

 

Construction will break ground in May or April 2022, pending local approval.

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