Sam MorgenPalm Springs Desert Sun
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In 2023, Matt Irby left a meeting for his job at Amazon with tears in his eyes.
The mid-30s senior program manager had recently clashed with his bosses over initiatives he had been tasked with developing. He felt constrained by the corporate environment of Amazon and felt like he couldn't be himself.
After yet another difficult meeting, he'd had enough.
"I got out of the meeting and I was crying. I was like, 'This is stupid. I just want to play,'" Irby said. "And I wrote it down on a Post-It note and I stuck it on my desktop."
That note would eventually lead to Play Lounge and Cafe, a new eatery and community gathering place in Palm Springs whose game-themed events have been generating buzz throughout the city.
Irby, 36, moved to Palm Springs in late 2020 to take advantage of his newfound ability to work remote. To stay connected, his friend group would host a weekly get-togethers to play games like Cards Against Humanity or have murder-mystery themed parties.
But when restaurants started to reopen, Irby's friend group moved back to the dimly-lit environments of the bar scene. While it was fun to begin to return to normal, Irby said he felt as if he missed elements of those pandemic-era game nights.
"When the bars started opening up, I felt like our connection wasn't the same," Irby said of his relationship with his friends. "We just kept saying, wouldn't it be cool if there was a place in town that wasn't a loud bar, where everyone is just messed up with a bunch of other people around? Could we just hang out ourselves and meet new people that way?"
That question — along with the challenges Irby faced at work — resulted in a career-altering bet. Irby said he sold his house, his Amazon stock, and his 401(k) to finance the new business. Since it opened in the fall of 2023, Irby has endured many long hours and sleepless nights to try to make it to the cafe's one-year anniversary.
His bet appears to be paying off. The colorful venue filled with customers Tuesday night, who huddled together to answer questions like, "In the 19th Century some pubs offered beer to-go served in a sealed pail that made a rumbling noise as the owner walked. That's why 64-ounce alcohol containers today are sometimes known as what?"
The answer, by the way, is "growlers."
Trivia Night is just one of the multitude of events Play Lounge hosts to lure in customers. Regular mahjong and cribbage games take place in an effort to bring people together through play. The restaurant seeks to further expand its appeal with events focused on game shows and musical brunch.
"A friend of mine just mentioned there’s this new play lounge coming, and I was like, what does that mean?" said customer Rae Bello, a five-time Trivia Night winner. "It's something that's activity-oriented. It's more about just having fun and being goofy."
In focusing on games, Play Lounge hopes to carve out a space for itself among the many restaurants and bars in the Coachella Valley.
In many ways, the interior serves as a counterpoint to the stereotypical look of a dark tavern whose deep shadows are intended to hide away stains and other defects. At Play Lounge, everything wants to be looked at. It's decorated in all of Palm Springs' favorite colors: bright pink support beams mix with a yellow sofa. A bookcase of board games waits invitingly for one to be selected.
The menu brings together classic cafe fare like sandwiches and salads. Flatbread pizza is also available, along with the homemade buttermilk biscuits that have become a favorite among customers.
For Tim Edmondson and Richard Cook, two regulars who recently enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee on the patio, Play Lounge offers a welcome break from the norm.
"This place is not more of the same," Cook said. "There’s a lot of coffee shops you can name, and they’re great to have, but this is not the same thing as anything else that I know of."
Edmondson has started to bring first dates to the cafe.
"This is exactly what we look for," he said. "It's kind of a social gift to the community."
As word has spread, events like Trivia Night have become more crowded, necessitating reservations at one point this year. Irby said the response to his business has exceeded expectations, especially since he had no experience running a restaurant before he started.
In the notoriously early-to-bed Palm Springs, one factor in particular may be drawing in a crowd.
As Brian Lama joked while attending Trivia Night: "We can have a fun night and still be in bed by 8:30. That holds a lot of weight."
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com
