Business Idea - Thoughts?

[maffer7]

Hello All,

Long time 'lurker', love the forum.

Anyhow, an idea I've been playing around with for a while is a 'gaming cafe'. Love to get your comments on this, positive and negative.

Basic premise, a cafe with a gaming theme. There will be various Gaming Arcade machines, retro and modern gaming machines etc for visitors to play. From there, there is a seperate gaming arena which will focus on e-sports. We'll also squeeze a small shop into the premises. The target is to make it accessable to a wide range of people, so not going for the 'geek' look (PC gaming, board games etc) but more of a hang out place for casual people. The term 'cafe' shouldn't be focused on too much, the overall vision is to make this a modern day version of a Rileys Snooker Club.

There isn't really anything in the UK which matches this. Others are either very 'geek' orientated (no offence meant, I just don't think there is any money in this) or are just a bog standard cafe with a couple of arcade machines.

Rip this apart, or any general comments welcome.

[ReallyReallyGood]

I can't separate eSports and geek to be honest.

[Audicab]

In Nottingham we have https://www.thenva.com/ National Videogame Arcade. This seems to be quite successful and a good day out with kids.

They do promote the cafe quite heavily but is always quiet. They do get a lot of European funding I believe.

Don't know if it similar to what you are thinking of?

[rgw2012]

Looked into doing a similar thing a few years ago but there was such a significant capital outlay to get it started that the business plan just didn't stack up. Hope you manage to find a way to make it work for you though.

[BoRED S2upid]

Will you offer food? Cafe can be anything from drinks and cake to snacks, breakfast or all day menu.

[maffer7]

Thanks for the comments thus far.

I used to think e-sports was just a geeky plaything as I've never been a 'gamer' but it's becoming huge. I've done a lot of research into it and it's going to dominate leisure time for kids and young adults in the next 10 years.

Good spot RE NVA. There are some similarities but I think the key is in the execution.

The start up costs are fairly significant but the ongoing overheads aren't too bad. If you can base yourself in a central position on a first floor then a 2-3,000 sq ft space could generate £250k a year in sales. GP is quite attractive on this.

[ReaderScars]

Sounds good, but I'm not a gamer. Might be an interesting concept to parents of young gamers who don't, basically, leave the house - could get them into a regular social environment/routine.

[maffer7]

BoRED S2upid said:

Will you offer food? Cafe can be anything from drinks and cake to snacks, breakfast or all day menu.

I think this is the biggest challenge. Get it right and you are away, cock it up and you are sunk. I think the idea is to be a 'proper' cafe rather than just sweets and drinks. So basically a good quality but easy to produce menu. Hopefully this brings in not just people who want to play the games but others to.

[maffer7]

ReaderScars said:

Sounds good, but I'm not a gamer. Might be an interesting concept to parents of young gamers who don't, basically, leave the house - could get them into a regular social environment/routine.

And that's the crux. I think the place needs to attract more than just the gamer community. If it can't I think it fails. If it can bring in people who play the odd game but are in the age groups and interest groups of people who do game then I think it's a winner.

[skilly1]

Friend of mine started this company:

http://www.kongsbars.com/bristol/

They have just opened second chain in Cardiff.

[maffer7]

skilly1 said:

Friend of mine started this company:

http://www.kongsbars.com/bristol/

They have just opened second chain in Cardiff.

Very cool, thanks.

My idea is basically in the middle of that and a geeky PC gaming cafe.

[ReaderScars]

Will you be inviting gaming vloggers or previous egames champs in to do Q&A/demo sessions? Could raise a bit of interest.

[technodup]

maffer7 said:

I've done a lot of research into it and it's going to dominate leisure time for fat kids and young adults in the next 10 years.

Although combining fat kids and a cafe isn't the worst idea ever.

maffer7 said:

If you can base yourself in a central position on a first floor

Count on a bigger marketing spend than otherwise then. First floors are notoriously difficult.

There are exceptions but I'd say a cafe pretty much has to be ground floor. Games could be upstairs.

As a non gamer and non geek it's something I have no enthusiasm for whatsoever. It sounds a bit faddy, like LaserQuest or those trampoline places springing up which I can't see lasting for very long.

We have something in Glasgow. https://www.facebook.com/MEGAbytesglasgow/

[ReaderScars]

Any mileage in considering becoming a kongbar franchisee? As in open one of those up in your location, rather than starting from scratch.

[maffer7]

technodup said:

ount on a bigger marketing spend than otherwise then. First floors are notoriously difficult.

There are exceptions but I'd say a cafe pretty much has to be ground floor. Games could be upstairs.

As a non gamer and non geek it's something I have no enthusiasm for whatsoever. It sounds a bit faddy, like LaserQuest or those trampoline places springing up which I can't see lasting for very long.

We have something in Glasgow. https://www.facebook.com/MEGAbytesglasgow/

a Freudian slip there :-)

Could potentially be faddy, wouldn't completely disagree with that. Doesn't mean it wouldn't make any money during the 'fad' though.

I'll check out Megabytes, thanks.

[maffer7]

ReaderScars said:

Any mileage in considering becoming a kongbar franchisee? As in open one of those up in your location, rather than starting from scratch.

Potentially yes, I'll take a look. Thanks.

[hyphen]

technodup said:

ount on a bigger marketing spend than otherwise then. First floors are notoriously difficult.

if you want to appeal to all people, a well designed ground floor projecting the right image is a must. I would suggest the cafe area being at the front to make it appeal to females.

What kind of ambience do you want the place to have?

maffer7 said:

skilly1 said:

Friend of mine started this company:

http://www.kongsbars.com/bristol/

They have just opened second chain in Cardiff.

Very cool, thanks.

My idea is basically in the middle of that and a geeky PC gaming cafe.

Not sure where that is. What ambience/image/vibe are you thinking of?

Geeky PC gaming = quiet and dark (I imagine, not my thing). Teen boys.
Arcade type places = noisy, fun and neon lit. Families(imagine not many middle class above as regulars)/small kids with mates/teen couples.
That place above is trendy gastro bar with young professional types.

Speaking personally, I would want to go, kids would be up for it. Stumbling block for regular visits would be the wife, as once in a while would be fine and half an hour would be fine, but more than that would bore her.

If you had a nice cafe with 'interesting' nutritious healthy food (coupled with tasty unhealthy deserts) as opposed to the usual cheap sandwiches then she would be more inclined to be dragged there by the childs enthusiasm.

So from my own perspective, start off with a family meal, dad and kids disappear to games and mum stays in the cafe reading for a hour or so is workable.

Edited by hyphen on Monday 6th March 13:19

[andy-xr]

There's a cafe in Hull called the BoardRoom. You pay a rate as a cover charge, buy a drink and choose a game to play. You can sit for a while playing whatever you want, perhaps order some food and more drinks. It's board games, so they can take a while.

It's done really well, and I really liked being there. We lasted about 2 hours as the parking was up, but probably would have stayed longer if it wasnt for that.

I think if I was running it, I'd make the second drink free and put a 4 hour time limit on things, but I'm not running it and was just a happy punter

[bigandclever]

There are a couple of places called Four Quarters in that there London (Peckham and Hackney). Cafe in the afternoon, bar in the evening. Nick what they've done

[maffer7]

hyphen said:

technodup said:

ount on a bigger marketing spend than otherwise then. First floors are notoriously difficult.

if you want to appeal to all people, a well designed ground floor projecting the right image is a must. I would suggest the cafe area being at the front to make it appeal to females.

What kind of ambience do you want the place to have?

maffer7 said:

skilly1 said:

Friend of mine started this company:

http://www.kongsbars.com/bristol/

They have just opened second chain in Cardiff.

Very cool, thanks.

My idea is basically in the middle of that and a geeky PC gaming cafe.

Not sure where that is. What ambience/image/vibe are you thinking of?

Geeky PC gaming = quiet and dark (I imagine, not my thing). Kids only.
Arcade type places = noisy, fun and neon lit. Families/kids with mates/teen couples.
That place above is trendy gastro bar with young professional types.

Agree with your comment about the cafe being at the front for the exact reason you describe, albeit to encourage non gamers in as well.

The position is between Arcade and Trendy Bar. It's a place for Students, kids and casuals in the day time and young adults during the evening. The typical evening customer (I'd envisage) is 17-30, social, has some level of interest in gaming. I think we can also replicate the idea of the Snooker Club and the 5 aside football with the mates attraction. A place to hang out with friends for a few hours, relax etc.