Dirty 20 Bar in Ballwin offers games and food. It aims to be a sports bar for nerds. (2024)

BALLWIN — For those familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, a “dirty 20” means a dice roll.

For those unfamiliar with the role-playing game, it might sound like how you order a martini.

Both give hints to what’s behind the doors of Dirty 20 Bar in a Ballwin shopping strip: a Dungeons & Dragons-focused restaurant and game-play space.

And though it aims to be a space for people to play Dungeons & Dragons, Dirty 20 Bar is where the owners say “nerds” of all kinds can gather and find community. From weekly tabletop role-playing groups to bridge clubs to Scrabble enthusiasts, everyone is welcome, said co-owner Jason Moughton of the new Ballwin business.

“Sports bars are a dime a dozen and if you’re a sports fan you can go in and watch the local sports with all the other people that want to watch the other sports game,” Moughton said. “The nerd community has definitely been underserved.

“I’m here for the community and they have the money to spend,” Moughton said. “They just need somebody to cater to them.”

Moughton and his wife, Ruth Camburn, began playing Dungeons & Dragons in 2018. When COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns halted game nights with friends, Moughton realized the importance of in-person connections, especially in the tabletop game community.

In 2021, Moughton attended a board game event that quickly grew to capacity before it even kicked off. He recognized a need for public spaces where people can go to set up tabletop games and play for hours without being asked to leave.

“People were done playing online. They wanted to get back to face-to-face,” Moughton said. “Tabletop gaming was definitely looking for a resurgence in the in-person environment.”

Thus, Dirty 20 was born. Camburn drew up a business plan, the two received an SBA loan and the couple eventually found a storefront at 14051 Manchester Road.

At about 7,000 square feet, Dirty 20 has a large, open floor plan that allows for separable spaces. Moughton said they added dark floors and wooden accents to emulate a tavern-like feel. And, instead of sports games, televisions around the space play things like video game playthroughs, the new Star Wars series and Marvel movies.

Dirty 20 has Dungeons & Dragons characters, superhero masks and images of fantastical lands sprinkled throughout the restaurant, further leaning into the nerdom.

“Nerdiness is becoming the new cool,” Moughton said.

So far, the public response has been positive, he said. Most of the time, folks come to Dirty 20 after work or school and stay for hours, ordering drinks and food while playing games with friends, according to Moughton.

“People are really passionate about this kind of space,” he said. “It’s really been very encouraging to see people actually interested and invested in this space succeeding because they don’t have anything like this in this area in town.”

There is indeed a market for board games restaurants, said Laura Leister, co-owner of Pieces Board Game Bar And Restaurant in Soulard. Since Pieces opened in 2016, business has been booming. The restaurant sees long wait times on weekends, it often hosts corporate events and there is a vast new customer pool, she said.

“There is room for activities in St. Louis,” Leister said, on sharing clientele with Dirty 20. “There’s so many unique activities in so many other cities. St. Louis has room to expand its economic growth and small businesses. People are craving activities and we can provide that.”

Pieces started after Leister and her husband, now co-owner, noticed diners constantly looking at their cellphones while out to eat.

The couple wanted to create a space where people are encouraged to put down their phones and where board gaming is accessible. One of the great things about Pieces is that not every game has to be competitive or serious, Leister said. The business has a library of over 800 games of all kinds, which attracts a diverse customer base.

“We’ll have one table of serious board gamers next to families next to college students playing party games,” Leister said. “People are so inundated with content. It’s nice to sit down and not look at a screen.”

Similar to Pieces, which serves dinner, brunch, coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages, Dirty 20 is more than just a bar with chips and dip or pretzel bites. Serving lunch, dinner and late night snacks made from good ingredients is something Moughton said he is passionate about.

“We wanted to be able to have access to quality food and drinks that wasn’t just an afterthought of the concept,” Moughton said. “We wanted to be a restaurant just as much as we were a place to game.”

Dirty 20’s specialty is macaroni and cheese, so patrons can order from a range of flavors like Philly cheesesteak, buffalo chicken, mushroom swiss, bacon cheeseburger and more. Other menu items include flatbreads, toasted ravioli, sliders, salads, chili, sweet empanadas, trashed pizza rolls and Flaming Hot Cheetos macaroni bites.

The restaurant hosts events like open-play game nights, trivia, movie nights and Critical Role watch parties. Moughton said younger generations are more interested in experiential purchases.

“They don’t want to just go to the Applebee’s and Chili’s and the 54th Streets,” he said. “They want to go to places where they can enjoy their time and enjoy their experience.”

Those interested in playing can walk in for a table or make a reservation online. Most people bring their own games but Dirty 20 has a library full of games free for patrons to use.

Moughton said his ultimate goal is to make nerds feel safe and that they are part of a community.

“I want them to feel like they have a home that they can go to that’s outside of their home where they can feel welcome, feel like they belong,” he said.