The idea is that so many places offer up games but there's not really a lot of places to play. So this would be some place for people to gather and play their games,meet like minded people,and just nerd out and have fun.
The general idea is to have seating with some consoles and arcade cabinets on the outer edges and tables for gaming with chairs. As far as services,we'd have vending machines for snacks and drinks and offer 3D,2D,and cloth printing (t-shirts,pants,blankets,that kind of thing). We'd also have a "bounty board" that lists good deals on stuff and allow people to sell items locally to other people. Dancing would also be allowed.
Place in Georgia called “Battle and Brew” and they did a really good job. Place was a little overpriced but definitely neat and filled all the needs. Look it up or visit sometime for perspective
We used to have a place called Xactek that was open 24/7. This was back in the era of RedBull, Bawls, and Techno music.
I absolutely believe you can do it. The biggest hurdle will be funding which I assume you may already have. If you need a few thousand, you can quickly qualify for no interest for 12 month business credit cards. That’s actually how my buddy and I got our business up and running (but we had to work very hard to get that shit paid down on time)
I don’t think this will be very profitable. It would serve as a revenue stream and hopefully you’ll make enough to pay a few employees. Still, if you’re willing to continue to work your day job and work on this Internet cafe, then you’ll likely succeed.
The health department may require you to build out a commissary kitchen if you’re serving any prepared food. In which case, the biggest hurdle is always the fucking grease trap which involves paying contractors to dig through concrete.
Don’t bother paying for vending machines. Go on Facebook marketplace and you will find local vending businesses that would be more than happy to place machines and service them. Those machines are upwards of $10K. Request a commission percentage as they will dart around the subject exclaiming that their services are free. Make sure they have the best credit card readers installed.
Merlyn, I say do it. You have the brains and the support. But only you can decide to start - which takes courage. And even if you fail miserably, you’ll learn a fuck ton. Which only readies you for the next endeavor.
The 8-Bit Guy on YouTube built an Arcade with a couple partners. Having a trusted partner can help tremendously. Just be sure to be clear about your expectations and be ready to call them out and expect hard conversations.
I’m not part of the scene at all but those Magic Card fuckers are always getting together. A few chairs and table can accommodate entire tournaments for that nerd shit. Just make sure you have enough molten nacho cheese in your stainless dispensing pump.
You can also join the local Chamber of Commerce. They generally do weekly morning meetings to help circlejerk each others businesses. You can ask for leads for hosting events. And if you’re hosting events, you may as well build that commissary. This way, you can have food vendors. Hell, you can host events with merchandise vendors too. Become a staple of the community.
Pretty much answered your own question there. It's very easy to sit at home and game on-line. But there's also something to be said for sitting around a table and just having fun with other people.
When I was a teenager I used to go to such a place to play counter-strike with my friends. We started a team and then that place sponsored us.
Back then there were LAN centers all over the area and they would host paid tournaments all the time.
They typically charged an hourly rate for playing and sold a lot of snacks.
Then when Steam came out all the lan centers closed.
Its not a bad idea. Give kids a place to chill while making money.
You could also double up and offer services like printing and sending faxes. I did a wiring job for a postal office for their fax machines and there were people coming in every few minutes paying $5 to send a fax.
Well,not just kids. Anyone who wants to play,really. But faxes aren't really related to gaming. Still,a fax machine wouldn't take up much space and it would be money coming in....
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 22:02:43 ago (+1/-0)
And neither would we. Well,I mean,if you wanted to play blackjack at your table,you could. And I suppose there's no way we could stop women from whoring if they kept it on the down low....
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 22 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:27:45 ago (+1/-0)
Well,we were thinking about offering a membership or charging to rent the tables or just taking donations to help keep the place open. I mean,cloth printing alone can pay for a kiosk at the mall so maybe all 3 might be enough. Plus the stuff from the vending machines and arcade games.
the cloth printing at the mall pays for itself because of the traffic, are you going to put the lounge in a mall or other high foot traffic area and advertise the other features you mentions beyond the gaming?
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 21:56:27 ago (+1/-0)
Well,rent in a mall is pretty high. But if the price per foot were right,I wouldn't mind it. I'm really hoping for advice on things such a lounge could offer to make it more profitable and popular. It does no good to set something like this up if it's not sustainable.
[ + ] Tbneer967
[ - ] Tbneer967 0 points 18 hoursMay 10, 2025 23:18:41 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Trope
[ - ] Trope 0 points 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 22:16:05 ago (+0/-0)*
We used to have a place called Xactek that was open 24/7. This was back in the era of RedBull, Bawls, and Techno music.
I absolutely believe you can do it. The biggest hurdle will be funding which I assume you may already have. If you need a few thousand, you can quickly qualify for no interest for 12 month business credit cards. That’s actually how my buddy and I got our business up and running (but we had to work very hard to get that shit paid down on time)
I don’t think this will be very profitable. It would serve as a revenue stream and hopefully you’ll make enough to pay a few employees. Still, if you’re willing to continue to work your day job and work on this Internet cafe, then you’ll likely succeed.
The health department may require you to build out a commissary kitchen if you’re serving any prepared food. In which case, the biggest hurdle is always the fucking grease trap which involves paying contractors to dig through concrete.
Don’t bother paying for vending machines. Go on Facebook marketplace and you will find local vending businesses that would be more than happy to place machines and service them. Those machines are upwards of $10K. Request a commission percentage as they will dart around the subject exclaiming that their services are free. Make sure they have the best credit card readers installed.
Merlyn, I say do it. You have the brains and the support. But only you can decide to start - which takes courage. And even if you fail miserably, you’ll learn a fuck ton. Which only readies you for the next endeavor.
The 8-Bit Guy on YouTube built an Arcade with a couple partners. Having a trusted partner can help tremendously. Just be sure to be clear about your expectations and be ready to call them out and expect hard conversations.
I’m not part of the scene at all but those Magic Card fuckers are always getting together. A few chairs and table can accommodate entire tournaments for that nerd shit. Just make sure you have enough molten nacho cheese in your stainless dispensing pump.
You can also join the local Chamber of Commerce. They generally do weekly morning meetings to help circlejerk each others businesses. You can ask for leads for hosting events. And if you’re hosting events, you may as well build that commissary. This way, you can have food vendors. Hell, you can host events with merchandise vendors too. Become a staple of the community.
[ + ] AttilaHitler
[ - ] AttilaHitler 0 points 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 22:13:22 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] puremadness
[ - ] puremadness 1 point 20 hoursMay 10, 2025 21:16:57 ago (+1/-0)
Hookers are cheaper and more convenient.
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 0 points 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 21:57:16 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] puremadness
[ - ] puremadness 1 point 17 hoursMay 10, 2025 23:41:26 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Doglegwarrior
[ - ] Doglegwarrior 0 points 20 hoursMay 10, 2025 20:42:58 ago (+0/-0)
I play league of legends.. I can go to my computer when ever and play no driving no money spent play against other people good comp etc...
But I would like the Live interaction shit talking being able to say nigger with out getting muted etc.
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 0 points 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 21:58:36 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Kozel
[ - ] Kozel 0 points 21 hoursMay 10, 2025 20:12:14 ago (+0/-0)
Back then there were LAN centers all over the area and they would host paid tournaments all the time.
They typically charged an hourly rate for playing and sold a lot of snacks.
Then when Steam came out all the lan centers closed.
Its not a bad idea. Give kids a place to chill while making money.
You could also double up and offer services like printing and sending faxes. I did a wiring job for a postal office for their fax machines and there were people coming in every few minutes paying $5 to send a fax.
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 0 points 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 22:01:39 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Kozel
[ - ] Kozel 0 points 17 hoursMay 10, 2025 23:31:34 ago (+0/-0)
I'm just thinking of extra income that the place could make to keep the employee busy.
Maybe even add passport photos and livescan.
[ + ] lord_nougat
[ - ] lord_nougat 0 points 22 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:23:04 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 21 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:33:29 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] lord_nougat
[ - ] lord_nougat 0 points 21 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:37:00 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 22:02:43 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Sleazy
[ - ] Sleazy 1 point 22 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:13:35 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 22 hoursMay 10, 2025 19:27:45 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Sleazy
[ - ] Sleazy 0 points 21 hoursMay 10, 2025 20:27:47 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Merlynn
[ - ] Merlynn [op] 1 point 19 hoursMay 10, 2025 21:56:27 ago (+1/-0)