Coffee, ice cream, and Pokémon, new café aims to 'Catch 'em all'
A new café in Callingwood is drawing clientele because of its unique theme: Pokémon.
Swirl Cafe and Games is part coffee, ice cream, and milkshake shop, and part licensed Pokémon Trading Card Game retailer.
“We have all of the craft espresso drinks, and then to make it a little bit more fun we have a specialty drink menu that’s all kind of Pokémon themed to just kind of tie the two together,” Co-owner Emilie Green told CTV News Edmonton.
“On the Pokemon side, we are just kind of a typical trading card game store.”
“We have a sanctioned league and we do tournaments as well, and we’re hoping to start up a youth league in the near future as well on Saturdays.”
Pokémon merchandise at Swirl Café and Games. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)
They also sell licensed Pokémon merchandise and collectables.
“We are actually a licensed Pokémon store, so Nintendo knows all about us. We order all official Pokémon cards and stuff.”
The café has been open since June, and Green says the reception has been enthusiastic.
“We have a bunch of regulars that come in, and we have a regular dog customer that comes in as well, we have the little pup cups,” she said.
“And then on the Pokémon side, people have come from the south end, that are like ‘Oh I’ve been waiting for another card game store to open up’, it’s been really positive so far.”
Candace Allan came to check out the café for the first time on Wednesday.
“We always go to cafes, and having a café that mixes a lot of my interests like Pokémon is pretty cool,” she said.
“It’s definitely going to be one of my go-to spots now. I really like the ambience here and I think Pokémon fans are always super nice.”
Angelique Nish agrees.
“It’s really special that they are this busy and they have such a big community that is ready to come here and purchase their drinks, their merchandise, everything.”
“It’s really nice to see that I’m not the only Pokémon fan in this vicinity.”
Pokémon merchandise at Swirl Café and Games. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)
And if Pokémon isn’t your style, Green says Swirl has a collection of traditional board and card games as well.
For more information on how to get involved with Swirl’s Pokémon league, visit their website.
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