A new club is bringing the beloved Puerto Rican pastime of Dominoes to the heart of the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago.

At the Dominoes table at the Pe Erre Domino Club Chicago, serious focus is combined with camaraderie.

"It's about fellowship and bringing Dominoes to use our brains a lot to play," one player said. "Just like being home in Puerto Rico, playing Dominoes."

For the players, gathering for the game is a cultural cornerstone.

"This is our passion. Playing domino is part of Puerto Rican DNA, said Pe Erre co-owner Miram Velez-Rivera. "Domino is more than just a passion, it's a way of living for us."

Velez-Rivera and her husband, Roberto Rivera, met in Puerto Rico.

"We fell in love playing Dominoes," Rivera said.

In Chicago, they sought to establish a Domino club, but wanted to be intentional about where the club would call home.

"I said, 'You know what? We need a place, we need la casa de domino, but it would not be the same if it's not right here in Paseo Boricua," Velez-Rivera said, referring to the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park.

Pe Erre opened in August on the corner of Division and Rockwell streets in the heart of Humboldt Park. It hosts Dominoes lessons, recreational play, tournaments, and leagues.

Pe Erre is how you say the letters 'p' and 'r' in Spanish – for Puerto Rico. The island's culture is inescapable in the club; including Puerto Rican flags, music, food, and even a life-sized cutout of one of its most native sons: Bad Bunny.

"We want to bring Puerto Rico here," Rivera said.

The club's opening coincided with four other businesses along Division Street, as part of a strategic effort.

"We're hoping to have every commercial space on Division Street from Western to Pulaski completely filled," said Jose Lopez, the executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center…

Lopez said his organization is helping efforts to give Puerto Rican-owned businesses a home in the area.

"Our goal is to make this truly a destination where you can engage Puerto Rican culture, Puerto Rican heritage, the Puerto Rican presence right here in the city of Chicago," he said.

For Velez-Rivera and her husband, the neighborhood and club are important to help their Puerto Rican heritage thrive in the present and future.

"We want to create history, but more than anything we want to pass the Puerto Rican traditions and culture to the next generation in Chicago," she said.