Changes and Updates for 2026 at The Gathering Place and Alpha Pie
Hello and welcome back, all. The Gathering Place is back for 2026, and there’s a great deal of cool things already planned throughout the year. A lot of things are staying exactly the same, but some things are changing. We’ve talked a little bit about the changes we have in mind already in previous weekly dispatches / announcements, but since it’s the first full week of the year let’s break down the big three:
- TGP’s Outside Food and Drink Policy is Changing
- TGP Discord Server is Changing
- The TGP Parking Lot Rules Aren’t Changing, But They Are Getting Enforced More Seriously
First, the outside food and drink policy.
In order to be better stewards of our space and the community we wish to foster, provide and maintain, The Gathering Place will no longer allow outside food and drink from anywhere other than local business and restaurants. We’ve had ongoing issues with trash and messes left behind from outside food and drinks, and this is officially the compromise. We want to encourage supporting local businesses, and you want to bring lunch by the shop. So, to that end, buy local!
We’d rather see spots like Med Deli, TRU, Cosmic Cantina, Momo’s Master or Buns succeed in our neighborhood than Raising Cane’s or McDonald’s – and, genuinely, we think you want that too. If you have any questions about what is, and is not, allowed, just ask. I promise, this is a friendlier policy than it might sound to some folks who might think we’re drawing up a spreadsheet of what is and is not allowed on TGP’s hallowed grounds. Just be mindful and cool about it and – for all of us – please, clean up after yourself.
Second, changes to the TGP Discord server.
The Gathering Place has a Discord server? Did you know that? Have we talked about it enough? I hope so, because the TGP Discord has consistently proven, for me at least, to be one of the most effective tools around in terms of finding games, cards and cool folks to hang with.
For the past year or so, TGP has been introducing more and more announcements and interactions on the Discord, and it’s been working. The #announcements channel, the #ask-staff channel, Discord has proven to be a great way to have direct communication where it’s needed most. Unfortunately, some of that valuable communication can get lost in the overall noise of a crowded room of people talking to each other. Folks mute the Discord, don’t check on it often, get annoyed at pings and notifications and delete it entirely.
Could a great deal of these issues be solved by better user-side interaction and customization? Probably! Are there things TGP can do to make it better, as well? Absolutely!
We want to refocus the Discord to be more about the shop, the space, and the games / events happening here daily, weekly, monthly, and beyond. We’re going to bump up and prioritize “looking for game” channels, reorganize the layout of channels and, unfortunately for those who love chatting on Discord servers, remove most of the generalized chat channels. Everything about card games, from #cedh to #deckbuilding-advice is staying! All the individual D&D channels, the #board-games, all that’s staying!
We’re just going to reprioritize, reorganize, and probably start one big channel that’s a big chaotic general chat people that don’t want to get a million pings a day can easily mute. We don’t know what we’re calling it yet, current votes are #the-wasteland, #house-party and #yell-zone. You’ll know it when you see it.
Third, parking at TGP.
In 2026, TGP will be taking towing in our parking lot far more seriously. No parking on the side wall next to the building, no blocking people in, no parking your car in the lot and walking away. The tow company is currently an on-demand service, something we call when we have an issue. That will never change, we’re not going to allow any towing company to run roughshod in our parking lot. But, with that in mind, we’re going to be a lot more likely to get vehicles out of the lot in the year to come.
We’ve seen our parking lot posted elsewhere online as a place to park for free on game days, a lot to leave your car over the weekend, and one of Chapel Hill’s “best places to park downtown without paying for it.” Our lot is for patrons and staff of The Gathering Place and Alpha Pie, and it’s free for the purpose of coming to TGP/AP.
You can find all the parking details at the newly-minted TGP parking guide.
If you have any questions or want to talk, please directly contact Victor via email (victor@thegatheringplacegames.com) or reach out to ludovician_vega (which is also Victor) in the TGP discord via DM.
