At the northwest corner of Pioneer Trail and Hundertmark in Chaska, you’ll find an unlikely intersection of board games and casual dining. The Bellows Bistro recently celebrated its soft opening in Chaska, led by owner Robert Cormican.
After working in the restaurant industry in New York, New Orleans, Florida and here in the Twin Cities, Cormican took a risk and opened The Forge, a board game store focused on role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer. Since opening, they’ve grown a dedicated customer base and moved into their current location in Chaska Commons.
When the Quiznos next door closed last year, Cormican jumped at the opportunity to bring his decades of restaurant industry experience to create a Dungeons & Dragons themed restaurant. He wanted to do more than just serve food.
“I wanted to make this a fun, inviting place where people can escape for a little bit. I want to bring something new to Chaska.”
And new it is. When you walk in, you’re greeted by a large bar adorned with faux stones and hanging lighting fixtures that evoke a Medieval fantasy sort of motif, not unlike a Renaissance festival.
Cormican was insistent on “a cool aesthetic that we try to make really fun. [Because] in-house person to person gaming is where it’s at.”
Booths are extra wide with larger tables to accommodate guests staying longer and enjoying some game time at their location.
In addition to the surroundings and theme-aligned food, Cormican is hoping to do more.
“We want to do events. We run a ton of events at the Forge and we’d like to do things here like a Bard spoken event or a date night. We’d like people to come in, eat and hang out—just slow down,” he said.
Speaking of the food, almost all their Dungeons-&-Dragons-themed dishes are scratch made including The Dire Wolf hand pie (seasoned ground beef, sweet caramelized onions and hearty potatoes), Braised Beast over Mash (slow-braised beef with herbs and red wine over mashed potatoes), the Fey Wild Fruit Pocket (ripe pears, wild blueberries and ginger wrapped in a flaky crust) or the Shadowforge Cake (chocolate cake with chocolate pudding inside, covered with a glossy ganache).
They also serve boba tea, ice cream and coffee. Flavors include blueberry or strawberry cheesecake, cookies and cream, salted caramel milk tea, and a variety of other fruit and milk teas.
Cormican would love to make his restaurant even more unique and connected directly to The Forge next door.
“I’d love to cut open the wall and open up a doorway between the two buildings, but it’ll cost me $120,000 in [Met Council] sewer access charges. Julie [at the city of Chaska] has been really helpful, but it is really frustrating.”
Cormican offered some advice for prospective patrons who may want to check out Bellows Bistro: “Try new things – human interaction is very important these days. Play a game with family members and friends and keep that happiness going.”
