In downtown Martinez, California, a cozy niche has been carved out by a mother and her sons. Ember Rest is a small, comfortable games store that opened early last September, and from that point on it has definitely made its mark on Martinez.
“We want this place to be welcome to all kinds,” Ricco Short, one of the owners of Ember Rest, said.
“The goal is to make [Martinez] a ‘Hallmark Town,’” Annita Emerson, mother of Ricco Short and co-owner of Ember Rest explained, referring to a phrase coined in popular culture that indicates a small town has a quiet, comfortable atmosphere that is often seen in the settings of movies featured on the Hallmark Channel.
Downtown Martinez moves closer every day to that goal, with a nearly full calendar of weekend events ranging from Aire Libre Weekends hosted by Del Cielo Brewing Co. on Escobar Street to a Downtown Farmer’s Market every Sunday, the community is clearly creating the comforts of a small town while also being as welcoming as it can be.
“Ember Rest is a place of Hope,” Short said. “My mother had a dream of my brother and I owning a store together. I want to thank my mom for helping me to dream
Walking into the small store introduces you to a wide array of products from various trading card games, several books for the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, and a corkboard for various pins the store has on sale, and all sorts of dice and small gifts for anyone to enjoy.
“When you get here, it feels like leaving the world behind.” Emerson said. “We’re lucky to have that magic that lets us leave the world behind.”
Ember Rest is one of many stores that participate in the Downtown Crawls, where they contribute fantasy drinks and games for participants in the event. In fact, it can even be seen on their Instagram that they participated in Martinez’s very first “Downtown Dungeons and Dragons Walking Adventure,” where guests were invited to join community members in a live-action roleplay adventure where they played as “Embers” – magical guests of the “realm” of Downtown Martinez – while solving riddles, finding hidden clues, and meeting volunteers dressed as nonplayer characters.
“Our first DND Event sold out!” Short smiled as he explained “Downtown DND,” giving a glowing explanation of volunteers and Dungeon Masters who helped run the event: “we call them Torchbearers, and they really helped out with Downtown DND.”
“Despite some hiccups, we had e-mails and requests to do it again.” Emerson said.
“Martinez has definitely evolved,” Short explains with a laugh, “The Millenials are taking over, and Martinez is on the up-n-up!”
All of the staff is very eager to help, with a keen eye for trusting one another and taking time to teach newer players to any of the games they host.
“Annita and Ricco have been very accommodating,” Ember Rest employee Owen Bolstad commented. “I really enjoy working here, it’s nice working where I’ve played for a long time. I feel great that Ricco trusts me in a way to hire me.” Bolstad continues, “We don’t really have any empty events.”
Indeed, there is an atmosphere of trust and camaraderie when you enter the doors of Ember Rest. For a very minor fee, the entire library of board games is available for the entire day of the store’s being open, and there is even a special room built to host tabletop roleplaying games with thematic lighting, various decorations inside to contribute wonderfully to the atmosphere, and a host of miniatures for whatever the night of rolling dice may require.
The community of Martinez has truly come together for Ember Rest, helping them persevere through some of the hardships of the past year.
“We’re fortunate that most products are produced in the U.S.,” Emerson said. Short would then add: “Products like ‘Grand Archive’ are impacted by tariffs, but our community comes through for us. We created a third space unintentionally, but we’ve been building upon that. We’re about unplugging, getting people face-to-face.”
“Political stuff comes up, but it gets answered and it stops,” Bolstad explained, adding to the idea put forward by Short.
As the store has opened, they have been home to a wide array of events for trading card games, learn-and-play sessions of Dungeons and Dragons, and this has been to such an extent that some events have led to the store having reached capacity.
“Final Fantasy had us turning people away,” Short explained of the events for Magic: The Gathering’s set, “Final Fantasy,” where the popular trading card game featured characters and events from the Final Fantasy franchise.
“That’s exactly why we’re moving,” Emerson said, with a smile, and explained that they were looking for a new location to host more people.
When asked about their favorite card or board game to play, Emerson confessed that she really loves “opening Pokemon cards. I know how to play and have taught the littles, but Ricco has caught me in here, and asked ‘Mom, did you open all the Pokemon cards?!” After laughing with Short about at least one moment of this happening, she explained her favorite board game: “Shut the Box, because you can have a conversation while playing.”
Meanwhile, Short had to take a moment to think before explaining that Dungeons and Dragons was “probably” his favorite. Despite having been what he calls a ‘Forever DM,’ or a player who is often stuck being the Dungeon Master that facilitates the adventure rather than someone who makes a heroic character for the adventure, he says that “DND is special; being able to share a story that everyone believes in is really special. DND can be very therapeutic.”
