Benevolent Badger – where gamers connect, compete, belong

Rich Palzewic

Staff

October 13, 2025

SCHOFIELD – Jordan Simm said for him, gaming has always been about connection – a sentiment that led him to open the Benevolent Badger, a space he hopes will bring people together.

Located at 1699 Schofield Ave., Suite 200, in Schofield, Simm said the Benevolent Badger combines the joy of coffee and food with the excitement of gaming.

“The Benevolent Badger offers a warm and inviting atmosphere for families and individuals,” he said. “The space features a variety of coffee options, board games and a menu filled with unique food items, making it a great spot for relaxation and socialization.”

Simm – who co-owns the Benevolent Badger with business partners, Laci Masters and Mel Wieland – said all ages are welcome at the establishment.

“It’s a space where people can come in and leave their outside troubles behind,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a very long time, but it wasn’t until recently that I was in the position to do so.”

Simm said it’s been harder to get people together to play games since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I had a Dungeons & Dragons game that basically ended because of the pandemic, and everything went online – it’s [just] not the same,” he said. “At the Benevolent Badger, you don’t even have to play our games – you can bring your own if you’d like.”

Playing games, Simm said, dates back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

“Recently [moving to online options], we don’t interact with each other as much anymore,” he said. “I [believe it’s] important that we are doing that again.”

Again, Simm said patrons can bring in their own games or play from the selection available on site.

“About the only thing we ask is for people to at least purchase a beverage or something while here,” he said. “We still need to pay the bills to stay open. We have a full drink menu and food options as well.”

Simm said the Benevolent Badger also has rooms for rent for private events.
“For example, if you want to have a private party for a Dungeons & Dragons group, we have two rooms available for rent,” he said. “One looks like an old Dungeons & Dragons tavern, and the other one has an outer space theme. We had a local tattoo artist come in and paint the wall for us. It looks like a galaxy.”

For those interested in classic board games, Simm said the Benevolent Badger has plenty to choose from.

“We host a monthly board game competition where we use mostly traditional games like Sorry, Trouble and Life,” he said. “People are competing with each other to become our monthly board game champion.”

More than just games

Opening the Benevolent Badger, Simm said, was driven by multiple inspirations.

“As a young adult with a younger child, there aren’t a lot of places to go that are kid-friendly where you don’t have to worry about if your kids are doing something or annoying people,” he said. “At the Badger, we have a room just for kids so parents can come in and feel safe and confident their kids will be fine while they drink coffee and enjoy themselves.”

Additionally, Simm said he was motivated by the limited number of alcohol-free social spaces available, particularly in Wisconsin.
“We offer an alternative to bars,” he said. “We have a full kitchen, so people can order similar bar foods – pizzas, appetizers, wraps, salads, etc. – and [coffee] drinks and mocktails. They can enjoy company without having to deal with alcohol.”

Since opening earlier this year, Simm said the Benevolent Badger is “gaining momentum” –  welcoming more visitors each week.

“The reviews have been great,” he said. “We have quite a few regulars now and are growing every week as the word about us keeps getting out there. Recently, I hosted a Dungeons & Dragons event for new players to learn the game in a safe environment with other newer people.”

Simm said they started with one session of Dungeons & Dragons but recently added another.

“During my last session, we had age ranges from the low 20s to the upper 60s,” he said.

A gaming background

Growing up, Simm said he was always into video games, but when he met his wife 15 years ago, the pair got more involved with traditional board and card games.

“I’ve found that to be a great way to be with other people, have some friends over for fun, laugh and get frustrated – in a good way,” he laughed. “I was a retail manager for quite a few years, and when I turned 30, I switched completely and went into the medical field, became an EMT and then a registered nurse.”

Simm said he still works as a nurse alongside operating the Benevolent Badger.

“I want to be there for people who need a safe place to be,” he said. “I love working with other businesses and organizations here in the Wausau area, too. We work with Odin Games [and Hobby] next door, we serve Pinery Coffee from downtown Wausau and we’re working with the Marathon County Library and a local gaming group trying to be available.”

Though the store opened this past May, Simm said the idea for the Benevolent Badger had been in the works for about two years.

“About 18 months before we opened, I started talking to Laci, and she told me the stuff she wanted to do,” he said. “It matched up well with what I wanted to do, so we decided to go for it. It was a very slow process, but once we hit February of this year, I just said, ‘We’re doing it.’ Two months later, we put in an offer for a spot on Schofield Avenue, and now we’re here.”

Though Simm said he loves his nursing career, too, the 36-year-old hopes to focus more on the Benevolent Badger in years to come.

What’s in a name?

Simm said anybody who knows him knows he’s a “humongous nerd” and a big fan of “The Lord of the Rings,” which served as the inspiration behind the Benevolent Badger name.

“One of the things that author J.R.R. Tolkien did was his taverns and inns always had some form of either alliteration or adjective nouns – like ‘Prancing Pony’ or the ‘Green Dragon,’” he said.

Piggybacking on that, Simm said he knew he wanted to do something similar for his business’s name.

“The badger is obviously Wisconsin’s state animal – and Badgers are awesome – so then I just started looking for ‘B’ names,” he said. “When I came to ‘benevolent,’ it just felt right, so ‘Benevolent Badger’ was born.”

Hours of operation for the Benevolent Badger are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Sunday by reservation.

For more information, head to benevolentbadger.com or find it on Facebook.