Beyond Shopping: How Chess Club and Maps Goodspace Are Changing Portland Retail

Galleria SW 10th Ave seen from my MAX commute

Chess Club and Maps: Experiential Retail

I entered Chess Club, a magazine shop that just opened on Glisan and 6th in Old Town Portland, OR. An event had just wrapped up — How to Start a Magazine. The owner, Andrew, was saying goodbye to a couple of attendees. He wore baggy pants, a loose long-sleeve shirt, and a snug five-panel hat over his short hair.

I introduced myself, and he kindly said, “Let me know if you have any questions,” before heading off to his duties. Five years into the decade, which began with a global pandemic — when retail stores had shut down and people weren’t going outside to shop — I’m starting to feel a resurgence in real-life shopping. Spaces like Chess Club are welcoming people back into the experience of engaging with businesses.

Chess Club’s layout is straightforward: white walls house neatly displayed magazines on thin shelves, organized by categories like fashion, photography, design, pop culture, and world magazines. But behind the magazines is another section — Chess Club’s event space.

Since they had just finished their How to Start a Magazine event, chairs were still arranged in front of a long podium flanked by speakers and screens on both sides.Chess Club identifies itself as an experiential retail space — part of a broader movement where retailers transform shopping into immersive and engaging experiences. Rather than just displaying products for sale, experiential retail creates memorable customer journeys through interactive elements, unique events, and personalized services, fostering a stronger connection between brand and customer.

Over on the other side of the Willamette River, at Stark and 6th, is Maps Music — a music licensing agency during the workweek, but on Sundays, they transform into Maps Goodspace, a charming third space every creative needs.

One Sunday during prime brunch hour, I biked from my studio across the Burnside Bridge, passing lovers holding hands and couples showing affection as they waited for friends outside busy restaurants. It was a gloomy late-April morning when I pulled up to Maps Goodspace, locking my bike to one of the protruding rails.

Inside, Alex, the founder of Maps, greeted me with a smile, along with Crystal, a lovely receptionist — both genuinely good individuals. Alex wore a blue collared worker shirt, and Crystal wore a black knitted long-sleeve shirt.

They told me Maps had hosted a dinner event the night before, where a record they’re promoting was translated into a culinary experience by a local chef. We chatted about the movie Conclave and how neither of us really understands how a Pope is chosen. Alex offered me some tea while a record spun in the background. It reminded me that Sundays are made for casualness — and that’s exactly what Maps Goodspace embraces: no pressure, no commercialization, just comforting music and tea.

Chess Club is located at 435 NW Sixth Avenue and is open 12–6 PM, Thursday through Sunday.

Maps Goodspace is located at 640 SE Stark Street and is open Sundays 11–4 PM and by appointment.