Gaming Cafe

There is an idea that has been kicking around my group of gaming
friends, off and on, for at least six years now. If has reared it's
ugly head once again, and this time it seems serious, so I thought I'd
bounce it off you guys. The idea is a either a hybrid game store/cafe,
or just a cafe that friendly towards gamers.

We're thinking coffee bar with light lunch/dinner menu, so think hot
and cold sandwiches, maybe some soups, burgers, salads and fried-type
appetizers (mozzarella sticks, fries, chicken strips, etc) and a soda
fountain.

In the main area we'd have the books and dice and stuff for sale as
well as more traditional cafe tables: smaller and if you sit there,
you're kind of expected to order a meal. In the back, or possibly on
another floor, we'd have larger tables suitable for table top
RPGs/minis gaming. We're not certain if the game tables would be first
come, first served, or reservable, or maybe even rented. If we charge
for their use, we figured there would be something in return, like free
soda, or cheap appetizers/discounts on meals.

Basically, a Denny's mixed with a Starbucks that won't kick you when
you break out the dice.

Some other features we're kicking around:

A library of books that you can rent for a nominal fee (say a dollar a
day) to test drive before you buy.

Serving beer and wine.

Having board games available for people to play (Monopoly, chess,
checkers, Settlers of Catan, etc)

Ready made terrain for minis games.

Tournaments/theme days/various competitions.

One or two "premium" gaming rooms. These would be mostly likely a room
unto themselves, and might have things like: a table with the one inch
grid inlaid into it, a desk for DMs/GMs to organize notes, free access
to the library, better deals on food and other, similar things.

All these ideas are very very early; to say it's in it's infancy would
be giving it too much credit-- this is embryonic.

Any comments, suggestions? Good idea, bad idea? Is there something
similar in your city? Is cool and/or successful? We want to do some
more research and maybe finalize some kind of business plan, but I
figure we're 3 to 5 years from actually having anything we can actually
move on.

Thanks!

Naznarreb wrote:
> There is an idea that has been kicking around my group of gaming
> friends, off and on, for at least six years now. If has reared it's
> ugly head once again, and this time it seems serious, so I thought I'd
> bounce it off you guys. The idea is a either a hybrid game store/cafe,
> or just a cafe that friendly towards gamers.
>
> We're thinking coffee bar with light lunch/dinner menu, so think hot
> and cold sandwiches, maybe some soups, burgers, salads and fried-type
> appetizers (mozzarella sticks, fries, chicken strips, etc) and a soda
> fountain.
>
> In the main area we'd have the books and dice and stuff for sale as
> well as more traditional cafe tables: smaller and if you sit there,
> you're kind of expected to order a meal. In the back, or possibly on
> another floor, we'd have larger tables suitable for table top
> RPGs/minis gaming. We're not certain if the game tables would be first
> come, first served, or reservable, or maybe even rented. If we charge
> for their use, we figured there would be something in return, like free
> soda, or cheap appetizers/discounts on meals.
>
> Basically, a Denny's mixed with a Starbucks that won't kick you when
> you break out the dice.

First off, I'm not a businessman, restauranteur, or the like, so take
all of the following with a grain of salt.

Gamers IME are very good at hanging out for hours in any place that
serves food and beverages, without actually buying anything. You should
decide which facet of your business is to be the "breadwinning" side,
and cater to that audience above all else.

There's a very cool little coffeehouse local to us that caters to a
computer- and console-gaming crowd, as well as to general
thirtysomethings who don't care a whit for World of Warcraft lock-ins.
They accomplish this by having all the gaming stuff in seperate rooms
from the common area, with doors that close. They charge a small fee
for time spent on the machines (or you can buy yearlong memberships
that do away with the fees). The common area has comfy couches, books,
magazines, and there's a section with computers for the cyber-cafe
thing. It's really well-done, and everyone is happy since there's no
rubbing elbows between straights and geeks unless they feel like it.

There's a large flatscreen TV behind and above the bar that is tuned to
a subscription movie service that shows nothing but edited-for-PG
movies. I forget what the service is called, but they can leave it on
Fantasy or Mystery or whatever, so patrons can hang out and watch
Return of the King while sipping lattes. The couches are way awesome,
and that's not just because they're the exact same couches we have in
our living room. Ask for DuraSuede by name; it's attractive and
you can clean just about any stain from them with the accompanying
cleaners and brushes.

Food's good, coffee's good, sandwiches are good, and nothing is too
complicated to prepare, so they can hire high-school seniors or college
students (an endless supply in a college town) to work the counter.

Anyway, the point is that the place is successful because it's
comfortable to the electronic gamer types while also catering to the
mainstream crowd that is more apt to have and spend money. I'm not
much of a businessman, but I imagine there's a lesson in that.

>
> Some other features we're kicking around:
>
> A library of books that you can rent for a nominal fee (say a dollar a
> day) to test drive before you buy.
>
> Serving beer and wine.

Be very careful and do lots of research before going this direction.
I'm a staunch lover of beer (a gaming store/brewery sounds totally
awesome to me), but there are varying laws governing what is and is not
a "bar" or "restaurant," and you don't want to lock out the under-18
kids by getting classified as the former. Beer and wine sounds good,
but it might be more trouble than its worth, depending on your local
laws work and exactly what kind of place you're planning on.

That, and you should remember that many gamers tend to be
poorly-socialized even when sober. Some of them are downright scary
(and even dangerous) when buzzed.

All I'm saying is, tread lightly.

>
> Having board games available for people to play (Monopoly, chess,
> checkers, Settlers of Catan, etc)

This is a good idea, as games like these a fun for non-gamer types, as
well, which you want to have in your place if you expect to turn a
profit.

>
> Ready made terrain for minis games.

You might partner up with someone in your area who already produces
terrain like this; ask him/her to donate terrain in exchange for the
free advertising (and a big discount at your place).

>
> Tournaments/theme days/various competitions.

Again, farm these things out whenever possible. Focus on running your
place and serving awesome food and drink, and contract out the gaming
stuff to able-bodied folks who tend to work for peanuts (and, again, a
big discount).

>
> One or two "premium" gaming rooms. These would be mostly likely a room
> unto themselves, and might have things like: a table with the one inch
> grid inlaid into it, a desk for DMs/GMs to organize notes, free access
> to the library, better deals on food and other, similar things.

I strongly suggest a membership program, and that only members can rent
game rooms. You do this so you have all thier contact information on
file in case someone destroys something. You have to be 18 to rent a
room, so if you have a cluster of minors, they have to get a parent or
guardian to sign for it. That gets you out of hot water when you can
produce a document saying X adult knows they were there, presumably
what they were doing, and how long they're supposed to be in the room.

Also, you need to think carefully about how you'll handle alcohol sales
(if you do that) and room usage. Can they take their beer into the
room? What if there are minors in the group? Plan for messy
situations by avoiding them at the outset.

>
> All these ideas are very very early; to say it's in it's infancy would
> be giving it too much credit-- this is embryonic.
>
> Any comments, suggestions? Good idea, bad idea? Is there something
> similar in your city? Is cool and/or successful? We want to do some
> more research and maybe finalize some kind of business plan, but I
> figure we're 3 to 5 years from actually having anything we can actually
> move on.

I think this can be a really cool hangout if you plan for trouble spots
and come up with a business plan that includes the numerous and moneyed
non-gamer population as well.

Best of luck,

--
Jay Knioum
The Mad Afro