Expansion and Renovation Updates 2022
Update: Thursday, Jan. 13, 4:30pm
The books downstairs are completely set up! Over 100 boxes of books and 6 shelves have been moved, and all are now displayed beautifully.
Update: Thursday, Jan. 6, 1:30pm
Events are suspended for the time being, but Mordor continues to improve! The new RPG room is available for browsing!
Update: Monday, Nov. 29, 2:00pm
Events are back! The downstairs continues to improve in preparation for this. The shelves were taken out on Saturday, and this is the first time we've had the covers off of the floor. We're really excited to have lights in there soon!
Update: Friday, Nov. 26, 1:00pm
The events space is closed until Sunday the 28th for renovations in the board game space and PAX preparation. The walls in the expanded section are up and primed!
Update: Friday, Nov. 5, 1:15pm
Check out the new mint walls! The electrician and handyman came in today, installing permanent board game fixtures and making sure everything is working right. Most of the product that was put in storage last week has been moved to accessible temporary shelving in the event space.
Update: Friday, Oct. 29th, 3:30pm
We have a floor! We will be doing FNM today, and our regularly scheduled events throughout the weekend. It will take a while to get the Board games, RPGs, and wargames out of storage, but we will get there!
Update: Wednesday, Oct 27th, 1:30pm
For the first time ever, Pandemonium's downstairs area has a level floor!. It will take all day to set and cure, and tomorrow morning the workers will start putting down the commercial grade flooring, guaranteed to last 20 years in high traffic areas.
Update: Tuesday, Oct 26th, 4:30pm
The Pouring begins!
In the upper two pictures you can see screws sticking out of the floor. The floor is so uneven that the heads of the screws are actually objectively the same height. The workers will mix and pour leveler until all screw heads are covered. In some places that will be only 1/4" deep; in other places the leveler will be up to 2" deep!
We had to more EVERYTHING downstairs into the space under the 7-11. That includes all the board games, RPGs, and wargames. From now till Thursday, most of those products will not be available for sale. They are trapped beyond a moat of concrete leveler.
If the workers can get the pouring done today, the concrete will need a day to cure before before hardening enough to allow folks to walk on it. Hopefully the floor will be ready on Thursday to start the flooring process. If we are lucky we might be able to get tables and chairs set up for Friday Night Magic. Cross your fingers!
Pandemonium's subterranean realm is expanding, and we are taking the opportunity to spruce the place up! Up till now the space underneath the 7-11 could only be used for storage. After the renovations we will move our Books, Wargames, and RPGs sections into it. This will allow us to expand those sections as well as free up space elsewhere in the store.
From Monday the 25th to Thursday the 28th, the downstairs area will be closed and all events will be canceled. Friday Night Magic for the 29th is tentatively on, but check back on this page to see whether that changes. By November everything should be back to normal.
If you have any questions, you can email general@pandemoniumbooks.com.
Thank you for your patience, and we’ll see you in the new and improved lower floor soon!
FAQs
Does this mean the event space will get bigger? Will the store be having bigger events?
Yes and no. The physical space devoted to events will be larger but our downstairs max capacity is set by the fire marshal, and that hasn't changed. What this does mean is that we will be able to host events that are less crowded, and therefore much more comfortable for our customers.
What's going on with the rest of the store?
We want to renovate both the upstairs and downstairs, but we only have so much money. So we are doing this in stages. First we do space under the 7-11, then the downstairs floor, then the upstairs floor. Since we'll have to close the upstairs to do the floor, we'll likely use the opportunity to repaint the upstairs area, rearrange the layout, do a little redecorating, etc.
When is all this going to happen?
Well the new space has been "in process" for the last two months. It will be done whenever the City of Cambridge says its done. We are waiting on permits and inspections. We're hoping the new space will be ready by early November. We'll see!
The downstairs floor is going in Monday-Friday (Oct, 25th-29th). Until the new space is done, the layout of the main downstairs area will be a bit in flux.
Likewise we are holding off on any planning for the upstairs until the new space and downstairs are done, but...maybe mid-November?