Weekly Buzz is a regular feature of special events and happenings on the North Shore. If you have an upcoming special event, project, or initiative that you’d like to see featured here. Send our editor an email at joeyphoenix@creativecollectivema.com
What: Comedy Disruption at The Castle w/ Headliner Ben Kronberg
When: Friday, February 15th from 8:30-10:30
Where: The Castle: A Board Game Café
Joey Phoenix talks to Castle Co-Owner Kevin Grant about the ongoing comedy series and other events at the Board Game Café.
Tell me about Castle Comedy Nights: How long they’ve been going on, and why it’s important for you to host comedy at the Castle.
We’ve been doing stand up comedy for about 2 years now. We’ve switched promoters a few times in there, and this is a new group of people helping us book comedy for this show and all our shows going forward. We think comedy at the Castle is important because we love supporting the local creative community around here, we also love having the space we do and want to use it to create fun and interesting events in Beverly.
How did you come across Ben Kronberg’s work and why did you think he would be such a great fit for this event?
We were really lucky to have our newest promoters – Tim Oliver and Alex Williams, connected to Ben Kronberg and they brought him on. Ben is one of the country’s most unique and innovative comedians.
As a national headliner Ben has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Comic Standing (Where Roseanne Barr famously told him, “Go F#*k yourself, Ben”), Late Night w/ Seth Meyers and on top of all of that he has his own Comedy Central Half Hour. With a mix of wordplay, classic joke structure,
We think comedy at the Castle is important because we love supporting the local creative community around here, we also love having the space we do and want to use it to create fun and interesting events in Beverly.
Kevin Grant, The Castle: A Board Game Café
What makes the Castle such a special venue?
We think the Castle is a great venue because of the uniqueness of the space. We have the entire dining room sectioned off from the bar so its an immersive experience in the show and the backdrop of hundreds of board games is different than any other space. The Castle has everything a traditional bar or cafe has, but in addition, before and after the show there are hundreds of games people can play.
What future events coming to the Castle are you most excited about?
I love our trivia nights, we try to make sure all of our trivia is themed to hit an audience who’s excited about it. We just hosted Princess Bride trivia, and we’ve got Harry Potter Trivia coming up in March, and Star Trek: The Next Generation coming up later in February.
Tell us about yourself and your current work with the Castle. What does it mean to be co-owner of a fabulous board game café?
My wife and I have been co-running this place for three years, and it hasn’t felt like a day of work yet. I love being here and making this space available to people who want to relax, have fun, and eat and drink. Most of my job at this point is putting down any issues and surprises that arise from the restaurant and back-end side of things. We’ve recently been lucky enough to have a talented staff who can maintain the operations of the Castle efficiently and without us having to worry about things as much as when we first opened.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Nothing much, just that this is a great kick-off to a new series of stand up nights at the Castle, we’ll be doing them every month on Wednesday night. People can find out details about it on our F
