Pink Elephant Games Scores a Critical Hit!

Go to a Game Store to Buy a Pizza? If It’s Pink Elephant Games, the Answer is ‘Yes.’

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Jonathon Schweer is an amiable fellow. He has a distinctly Kansan aura about him, broad-shouldered like a farmboy, quick to smile, and slow to anger. He talks animatedly about board games, card games, and role-playing games, as well as sports – specifically his favorite team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. With a strong voice and a loud laugh that echoes through his shop, he has become something of a minor celebrity among the Wichita geek and nerd scene. Those who visit Pink Elephant Games and Cafe have nothing but good things to say about Jonathon. With good reason, too! He and his wife, Gayani, provide a place not only for them to purchase games, but for the games to be played, seven nights a week.

The shop is a bit of a hole in the wall. Outside, a vinyl sign hangs, displaying the store’s signature hand-drawn elephant. The sign is unlit, making the place difficult to find at night. Even during the daytime, it isn’t easy to tell where it is at a glance. Indoors, pink paint blankets one side of the main room. The opposite side remains an unfinished white, broken up by posters advertising card games. Folding tables and chairs stand in rows near the entrance, with large wooden tables designed for miniatures games farther back. The ebb and flow of customers makes it difficult to keep it all organized. Shelves of games featuring Star Wars, Warhammer, and others, line the back corner of the main room. These the gamers treat with respect; they rarely suffer the chaos experienced by the front end. And farther back?

That’s where you’ll find the kitchen.

Behind the Scenes

The kitchen is humble. There are a couple refrigerators, some storage, a deep freeze, and a pizza oven or two. And that, my friends, is where the magic happens. Jonathon, who is a full-time math teacher and Wichita business owner, moonlights as a chef. He’s never received a James Beard Award or a Michelin Star, but that doesn’t mean his food isn’t top notch. In fact, he might make the best pizza in Wichita. (Let me be completely transparent. I run games of Dungeons & Dragons every week at Pink Elephant Games, and receive free pizza and drinks regularly. Because of this, one might argue I have a vested interest in their food. As long as they serve food, after all, I benefit from complimentary pies. Can you trust me, then? That, my dear reader, is up to you.)

Pink Elephant’s menu includes an ample selection of sandwiches, all of which sound toothsome. This hobo has tried the Get Gouda and The Rob Boss, both of which are worthy of their unique names. Their fries, mozzarella sticks, and cheese bread are good stuff, but there is so much more to Jonathon Schweer and Pink Elephant Games.

Pie in the Sky

Jonathon, a math teacher who opted to pursue a career as a business owner, has a vision. He foresees a location where the gaming subculture of Wichita can gather to play fun games, eat good food, and enjoy each others company. He also sees Pink Elephant providing delivery, even if it’s through a service like DoorDash or Uber Eats. He’s upbeat and friendly, but at the same time, he’s driven. He sets goals and marches toward them, even if they don’t happen as fast as he’d like. The store has moved twice, and its current location leaves plenty of room for growth. Even better, the latest incarnation of Pink Elephant Games makes it a cafe, too.

On top of pizza, sandwiches, and side dishes, Jonathon’s wife, Gayani, who matches her husband’s energy with a seemingly unlimited supply of her own, brought boba and milk tea to the menu, both of which are tasty additions. While it might seem like Pink Elephant Games is where Jonathon’s heart is at – after all, he spends a huge chunk of his spare time there, making sure everything runs smoothly – a peek under the hood shows that Gayani is his true love. He regularly leaves the store in the hands of the (very competent) staff to spend time with her. The shop itself is named for the pachyderms from her home in Sri Lanka. And their logo? That’s her work. Yes, my gentle reader, he loves her very much.

But one quickly gets the feeling, however, that Pink Elephant Games and Cafe doesn’t fall far behind. And nowhere in the shop does it show as clearly as in the pizza.

This is Where the Cheese Meets the Crust

If game store with bare concrete floors and plastic banquet tables is be the last place you’d expect to see someone hand-toss pizza dough, Pink Elephant Games and Cafe is going to leave you pleasantly surprised. Jonathon makes his own dough, a recipe he has perfected, apparently. He – or his trained staff – crafts each pizza with quality ingredients. For each entry on the menu, he mixes up a custom blend of herbs and spices. Take that, Harlan Sanders! Pizzas are cooked long enough to make the crust golden brown and the cheese into a gooey layer. Then a member of the staff delivers the pie on a huge, sixteen inch wooden peel.

Fresh from the oven, your pizza is hot, the cheese stringy, the aroma heady. The flavor is layered and broad, a stack of meat, cheese, sauce, bread, and a dozen spices hitting notes both savory and umami. They spread the toppings on thick, held in place with a healthy supply of mozzarella. For what it’s worth, I recommend the T-Rex (all meat) pizza with their garlic butter sauce. Just beyond belief.

Admittedly, I haven’t tried every pizza place in Wichita. I imagine there are plenty more out there I have yet to visit. But why would I?

Pretty sure I’ve probably already found the best pizza in town.

Find Pink Elephant Games and Cafe at 2431 W. Pawnee St. in between Child Start and Dollar General on the southeast corner of Pawnee and Meridian in Wichita, Kansas. They’re open in the afternoons, and can be reached at (316) 867-4411. Go. Eat. Fill your tummy.