By Julian Higuera | Reporter
Normally, when you hear chess club, you think of a meetup at the library, a school club or even the park. At Sison Tacos, located at 601 Franklin Ave., customers can experience a night of chess for all skill levels, with a side of tacos.
Owner Edgar Gomez hosts the chess club at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday. Gomez keeps the kitchen open until 7 p.m. so club members can grab a bite. Sometimes customers even join the club for a match, according to Gomez.
“The first month, it was like 1-4 people, maybe even five,” Gomez said. “Now, usually it’s up to 14 people; it’s definitely going up quite a bit.”
Although chess can be considered a serious sport, Sison Tacos’ environment allows for both casual and advanced games, according to Daniel Guel, head of the club and a veteran chess player.
Gomez, a beginner at chess, wanted to bring more to the business and his community, so he brought his friend Guel to help lead the chess club, creating a space for players of all levels.
“Edgar and I like to team up because he obviously owns the taco shop, but I’m the chess guy,” Guel said. “When people have questions … they sort of go to me.”
Gomez and Guel met at Startup Waco, where Guel’s passion for chess reached the right ears with Gomez, who wanted to bring more events to Sison Tacos.
“I just want to give people an opportunity to play chess, especially maybe for people who felt like their only opportunities were on the internet,” Guel said.
Guel’s love for chess began at age 12, playing on the family computer with the program Chess Master 9000. According to Guel, his poor rating lit a spark inside that yearned for improvement.
“I motivated myself, kept playing and eventually increased my rating,” Guel said. “My dad also played chess, and that’s why we had the chess program; he actually did tournaments, and so I started playing with my dad and then I ventured to local tournaments.”
Now, Guel, the strongest chess player in the club, hopes more will join the club, as he knows there is an audience for it.
“I really want to target the people who love chess … but they crave that sort of physical, over the board, we call that sort of interaction,” Guel said. “If you’re that person, chess club is for you. If that’s you, we want you, and it doesn’t really matter the skill level … We’ve had players who barely played.”
The chess club is only the beginning, according to Gomez. There are several ideas in the works coming to Sison Tacos. Gomez is always looking to expand and diversify, from innovating with coffee to collaborating with local businesses, and even discussing potential Spanish-speaking courses.
“I would like to do a date night, monthly, maybe biweekly,” Gomez said. “We would do those after hours and include movie trivia and the Texas Photo Booth, they have a little trailer, and they have a photo booth inside of that … we’re planning hopefully for the first week of April.”
When asked why he has so many ideas floating around, Gomez was keen to mention the importance of helping out his community.
“I definitely want to see local businesses highlighted, and I’m a part of Startup Waco, and I was able to talk to a lot of business owners,” Gomez said. “They also need a place to just start, and I definitely would like to help out any way I can. Yes, we are a restaurant, but we are also a part of the community.”
