April 2026

Zulu's Board Game Cafe
Newsletter

Ten Years of Games, Community & Good Food

Boy does the time fly! This April, we are celebrating Zulu’s Board Game Café’s 10th anniversary.

I remember the first time I met Matt Zaremba, Zulu’s owner. We were between rounds of MTG at a local store in Snohomish. Matt shared with me his vision and dream to open the best store possible: a store that welcomed everyone and encouraged all levels of gaming.

Over the last decade, with determination, hard work, a strong team, and an amazing community of gamers, Zulu’s has become one of the preeminent gaming locations in the Northwest and the world! Day in and day out, we love sharing our tables, tournaments, tastes, and games with our players.

Through the month of April, each community at Zulu’s is hosting its own special events to commemorate the occasion. Whether it has been a few years or you are a weekly participant, we welcome you to come back to see the classic, the new, and the exciting. Keep your eyes on Facebook and Discord to see the unique events happening in store.

In addition to special events, delectable surprises await on our special menu and fancy themed apparel just dropped in the merch section!

We'll take a look at all of this and more in this newsletter, but before that, events coordinator Fran sat down with mister Zulu's himself, good 'ol Matt, for a "quick" chat about past, present, and future of everyone's favorite Board Game Cafe.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Zulu’s Board Game Café for the last 10 years. We are so proud to be a part of the community of Bothell and the greater Seattle area. It brings us joy to see our tables busy and full of players with smiling faces. Thank you to our customers; we look forward to the next decade we have in store!

- Phil

A Conversation with OUR Founder, Matt Zaremba

Ten Years with Zulu's

Matt Zaremba, founder of Zulu's Board Game Cafe, circa 2016

Question 1: "What inspired you to open Zulu's Board Game Cafe?"

Matt"You said these were going to be quick questions with short answers…"

Fran"Yeah, don't worry about it, go ham!"

Matt"In 2011 I took a class at UW Bothell where I did a full business plan for a Wedding Facility. Me and my wife had this idea of a venue that was built to house weddings and similar large events, and that business plan has a lot of overlap with what we ended up turning into. That's how I learned the know-how to create a business plan to make this become a reality.

I also had two different friends who opened board games stores at the time. One in Mill Creek around 2012 and another one in Snohomish. The Snohomish one I was heavily involved in, building tables and chairs and whatnot. A lot of ideas started bubbling up in my head during that experience. Then I went to Mox Bellevue when they first opened that location. I showed up at noon on a Thursday with my kids and three hours later the place was packed and I had spent 64 bucks and had a great time. The service was awesome, and we learned Sleeping Queens all together. I was thinking about this all the time, but when I left that day, it cemented the idea – that's what I knew I wanted to do.

A short time later, my son got full-day kindergarten, which was a big deal and freed up a lot of my time. And that was September 2014. In April 2015 I closed on the building that later has become Zulu's main location."

Fran"The Bothell store."

Matt"Yes. And I spent the next year of my life with Kaleb Muse remodeling that space. We opened in 2016 with two employees working seven days a week, 12 hours a day."

Fran"I remember coming in and the store was brand new, looking for the Final Fantasy TCG, and it was just you and Kaleb in there manning the counter and serving food. It was packed!"

Matt"Oh yeah, we were all so excited to play that game!"

Question 2: "What is your favorite memory of starting this journey?"

Matt"Oh man. There are a lot of memories from the early days. One of the big ones…just two months short of opening the store, there was a huge fire in a building across the street and that building burned down completely. The fire spread to us, and we sustained some pretty heavy damage but we managed to remain open for business thanks to our community.

I was there all night fighting the fire and looking at the damage, and almost passed out on some tables, and members of our then-small community showed up in droves and helped dig us out.

Water had been running through the basement, there was so much soot, so much cleaning to do, so much work to be done. But thanks to everyone, all the work was completed in just one day.

We were just a small store back then but when everyone showed up and helped us out. It really cemented my feelings towards our local community and doing everything I can to make this a two way street – to make Zulu's a place where people can come and be comfortable. A real third place.

Just seeing the same faces coming in over and over again, to spend time at the store, that's really awesome."

Question 3: "What's something that surprised you about running a board game store?"

Matt"The business side and the community engagement of running a place is much more rewarding and easier than I thought. It's because of how great people are. Our community is really good, and the hardest days are not that hard. It plays to my strengths and it's why I wanted to do this. I was in a tech job before and I feel like I wasn't utilizing skills that I felt I had, and this checks all of them. I love providing a space to have big events and for people to congregate. The community makes it worth it."

Question 4: "It's been ten years. Do you feel the same about Zulu's as you did at the beginning? How have things changed?"

Matt"The goal when I set out, was to have five to ten employees."

Fran"I think we might have overshot a little bit."

Matt"Yeah, things got a bit bigger. The bar keeps getting higher and things keep getting better, but it's incremental steps. So we're way past where I thought we'd ever be. I know why and I try to provide a living wage in the PNW as we climb that ladder, but the scope is way bigger than I thought it would be and I didn't have any sense of the global hobby game market at the start, but now I feel like I have a pretty good idea."

Fran"And the popularity of RPGs, TCGs, board games has exploded in the past few years. That certainly contributed."

Matt"Yeah the growth has been pretty constant, but the pandemic jumpstarted and accelerated certain segments massively. We are way past whatever dream possible and now the goal is to be a global influencer in gaming and having the greatest store on Earth. That was not on my bingo card."

Question 5: "What's your favorite aspect of building communities at Zulu's?"

Matt"Bringing different perspectives – people with different views – together. Getting people from different walks of life around the table and focusing on what we have in common and having fun together: I think it's what makes life worth living."

Question 6: "What are your current favorite games people play at Zulu's? Are they the same games people played at the store when starting up?"

Matt"I personally have a pretty decent Magic background. I love Magic Drafts and Limited format specifically, and I also enjoy some of the crunchier, more complicated board games. That drew in players who were into similar things. This is all still true, but has evolved a lot over the years in terms of scope, complexity, quality. All our communities are growing steadily, but especially TCGs. Miniature games too. That was also a big part of my past."

Fran"The famous Spray, Dip, Done, Matt painting method."

Matt"Yes that's the way. That's how everyone should paint all their miniatures."

Fran"I'm going to quote you on this."

Matt"Yes, tell Ethan. Tabletop role-playing games was probably the community I knew the least about, but it was our biggest focus for the first couple of years we were open. Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons, and other TTRPG communities had players who showed en masse and our theme and vibe resonated with them. People started reserving tables to come play, and it became one of the biggest drivers at Zulu's and maintains a vital aspect of what we do today and is a huge part of our plans for the future."

Fran"Speaking of, let's talk about the future a little bit."

Question 7: "What's your vision for the next ten years of Zulu's?"

Matt"The next couple of years is clearer. Get the Rite Aid built and turn it into the Zulu's Guild Hall."

Fran"Name spoiler alert."

Matt"It takes a couple of years to get the right theme/vibes and the right decorations and I don't like to force that. After that we'll be running some large events under every category. For instance, for role-playing games we'll have D&D epics, we'll host larger board-game tournaments with big prizes. Larger Magic and TCG events in general is the easiest one, 64-player or 128-players tournaments, win-a-case, 1k tournaments, etc. We plan on ramping up miniature-game events as well. And because we'll have a larger space, the best part is we should be able to run some of these events simultaneously, while having more than enough space for people to just come by and game at their local game store, which should be the greatest store on earth."

Fran"Your vision for the next ten years: best game store on earth."

Matt"Yeah!"

Question 8: "What do you expect from the future of games – board games, TTRPGs and TCGs?"

Matt"I think what we do with in-person gaming is becoming more and more important. It's one of the main avenues that a lot of people have to spend time in real life with other humans to engage in conversation and complex activities, and I think this has a very bright future and it's a kind of a counter-point to where a lot of people's work is going: spending a long time on a computer. And we will continue to grow the space for people to mingle and meet up. I think it's vital. And I expect that gaming in the form of TTRPGs, card games, board games and so on is going to keep growing massively."

Fran"All right, that's it! That's all the questions I had. Thank you for your time, Matt. This was a fun interview! And thanks everyone for reading and celebrating this ten-year anniversary with us! Let's do this again in ten years!"

Anniversary Specials · April Only

Featured Menu

A delicious way to celebrate Zulu’s 10th anniversary we have cooked up (literally), is the “Timeshifted” April menu!
Five delicacies handpicked from the annals of our menu’s history have been added back to the roster of our Bothell location, and most of them are also at the Event Center!

They’re sure to be a hit with our nostalgic customers, and new customers get to experience some of the most successful tasty treats our regulars won’t stop asking us to bring back!
Here’s all the details.

Deathclaw Sidewinder Fries $6.50

Enjoy the deadliest pile of po-tay-toes in the wastelands! Thick cut sidewinder fries, tossed in a specialty sweet and savory spice blend, served with your choice of two dipping sauces.

Piles of Gold $13

A pile of deep fried gold! Pair these mac and cheese bites with our house made marinara and one extra dipping sauce of your choice.

Matt's Loco Moco $13

A Zulu's new take on an old favorite. A heaping pile of rice, topped with a smash patty, beef gravy, and a fried egg, sprinkled with green onion. Not available at the Event Center.

Jace's Double Blu Burger $17.50 / $19.50

A monster of a burger filled with bacon, crispy fried onions, blue cheese crumbles, and sautéed mushrooms. Available as a single or double.

Chimera Burrito $16

A chaotic amalgamation of jasmine rice, fresh lettuce, spiced chicken, and a zingy cilantro Fangbreaker sauce, barely contained in a soft flour tortilla. Comes with your choice of side and dipping sauce.

All of these specials will end April 30th.
While the Timeshifted menu is active, Totcho’s, Alfredo, and Rings of Power will not be available, but they will return come May.

We have also partnered with Watts to brew a special new beer for the celebrations · Available all month!

Honey Bound Hazy Pale Ale

"When a hive produces an overabundance of honey, the honeycomb can fill to the point where there is no room for the brood. A hive in this state is called 'Honey Bound.' Such is the case at Zulu's Board Game Cafe, where every day of the week it's buzzing with activity. We brew Honey Bound Hazy Pale in celebration of their 10th Anniversary. Light, soft and refreshing, it's bursting at the seams with tropical hop character from Waimea and Elani Hops."
— Watts Brewing Company

New Merch!

If you wanna join in on the celebration AND look extra snazzy while doing so, we have worked together with local legend Legume to bring you some exclusive clothing options as well!

Zulu's T-Shirt: 10 Year's of Glory style

You can purchase T-shirts and hoodies with Legume’s beautiful “10 Years of Glory” design at our Bothell location, as well as on our website at this link:

zulusgames.com/collections/merch

And while you're at it, check out the recent Salamander Squad collection with art by Marie Enger!

Thanks for reading and for being the best gaming community we could ask for. We are thrilled to celebrate with you.

We will see you again next month!

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