What would it be?

I think I would open a bar like this: http://www.wann-izakaya.com/food.html

Not too expensive and not too douchey.

11/2/2010 4:12:29 PM

I have the perfect Idea.

A place that sells cereal!

11/2/2010 4:13:12 PM

topless buffet

11/2/2010 4:13:55 PM

^ I thought they had those in the 70s and they didn't work

11/2/2010 4:14:34 PM

i don't think it served food.

that's the missing link.

11/2/2010 4:15:25 PM

an arcade

11/2/2010 4:15:41 PM

Whatever I open, I would build a parking deck behind it.

11/2/2010 4:15:49 PM

A bakery.

11/2/2010 4:18:28 PM

A Gamestop (cut out all the trips to crossroads, crabtree, etc) or find some way to drop a Biscuitville in there.

11/2/2010 4:19:47 PM

a red box

11/2/2010 4:20:39 PM

beer bar and classic/retro arcade

like Barcade in Brooklyn

http://www.barcadebrooklyn.com/

11/2/2010 4:21:12 PM

recruiting station

11/2/2010 4:21:49 PM

Crazy Fire, but pump marijuana smoke in and charge by weight

11/2/2010 4:22:01 PM

^^^ I like it.

11/2/2010 4:23:25 PM

charge only a quarter for the classic games

we're talking Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Missile Command, Frogger, Centipede, Dig Dug, etc, a couple of pinball machines, maybe some "newer" classics like the Street Fighter franchise, Metal Slug, etc., and maybe have a few rail shooters like Time Crisis because I personally really enjoy them

I'd also put a projector and screen in there and regularly play strange and nerdy movies
all in the hopes of drawing the student crowd to spend money at the bar

I'd want to make my own sodas in-house as well because I imagine the place would draw an under 21 crowd too

I think I'd call it 198X (pronounced 'nineteen eighty X')



[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 4:31 PM. Reason : -]

11/2/2010 4:29:20 PM

Biscuitville would be quality...also a Foothills brewpub could make a killing on Hillsborough street

11/2/2010 4:30:39 PM

any brewpub could clean up, I would hope

11/2/2010 4:31:43 PM

Quote :

"beer bar and classic/retro arcade like Barcade in Brooklyn"

That would be awesome.

11/2/2010 4:34:09 PM

pizza parlor

11/2/2010 4:35:07 PM

I would also like to rent out the place for private parties and put all the games on free play

probably also do a free play one night a week
maybe with a 1 drink minimum

11/2/2010 4:36:45 PM

If I had the capital I would support you in this venture, but I am broke

11/2/2010 4:38:06 PM

I am sold on Snewf's idea. I feel like my suitemates and I would have spent a considerable about of time at such an establishment while in school.

Probably even now too.

11/2/2010 4:38:28 PM

I'd be tempted to name it Pew Pew Bar, even though that sounds kind of gay.

11/2/2010 4:39:22 PM

^ As long as you make sure the whole thing is geared towards the environment/games, I think it's golden...Sammy's has several arcade games (including one of my favorites, OffRoad), but I've never seen a single damn person play them.

Including something like ski-ball and possibly having tickets & a retro prize case (slap bracelets, bouncy balls, etc) might be worth including.

11/2/2010 4:41:20 PM

the novelty would wear off pretty quick

11/2/2010 4:43:36 PM

I feel like the retro idea would just be a novelty thing for a little while. Without newer games you lose out on the nerd base that would carry you through the week. Most over 21 students live closer to Tryon nowadays.

11/2/2010 4:43:51 PM

Quote :

"charge only a quarter for the classic games we're talking Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Missile Command, Frogger, Centipede, Dig Dug, etc, a couple of pinball machines, maybe some "newer" classics like the Street Fighter franchise, Metal Slug, etc., and maybe have a few rail shooters like Time Crisis because I personally really enjoy them I'd also put a projector and screen in there and regularly play strange and nerdy movies all in the hopes of drawing the student crowd to spend money at the bar I'd want to make my own sodas in-house as well because I imagine the place would draw an under 21 crowd too I think I'd call it 198X (pronounced 'nineteen eighty X')"

So basically the original Kings Barcade + some soda on Hillsborough St?

I met a guy a while back who owned a pizza/sub/arcade/bar on Hillsborough St. in the 70's/80's. I can't remember what the name was. He said business was great until the state changed the drinking age from 18 to 21. Dormrats would walk over to Hillsborough St., eat pizza, drink cheap beer, and play video games after classes. After the new law went into effect he said there just wasn't enough of an over 21 crowd in that area to keep all the businesses afloat.

I think that's a major part of why Hillsborough St. is the way it is today. Businesses have to survive mostly on food sales, so they want you in and out as quickly as possible. They don't want a bunch of kids sitting in their real estate all afternoon since they can't really make any money off you anymore.

11/2/2010 4:44:21 PM

yeah I think I'd need 8 taps (two 4 tap kegerator systems), a couple of chest fridges for bottles and other drinks, a tri-sink and/or dishwasher, glassware and the other bar stuff, and a Wunderbar or similar soda system

I'd need at least 6 coin-op cabinets to start the arcade side of the business and a sound system is a good idea as well

most of the furniture and the bar itself could be built fairly cheaply with lumber and painted flat black (easier to maintain that way) - a little accent lighting and that's that

^ yeah there's the rub
Barcade in BK gets most of its business because it carries an exceptional selection of beers and is located in a "hip" neighborhood where beer snobbery and ironic retro stuff hold some cachet right now


[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 4:47 PM. Reason : -]

11/2/2010 4:45:36 PM

Quote :

"I think that's a major part of why Hillsborough St. is the way it is today."

That and the severe lack of parking during the day.

11/2/2010 4:46:16 PM

I think your games are a little too old for most college kids. Make it NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Daytona USA and The Simpsons and X Men arcade games, and you'd be set.

Also, pop a shot basketball and air hockey, but don't be gay and charge .75 cents.

11/2/2010 4:47:31 PM

you're probably right

my tastes in coin-op games are really more for the 30-something crowd

it wouldn't really appeal to a 21 year old

11/2/2010 4:49:00 PM

nice, i've always wanted to go to a low rent Dave & Busters.

11/2/2010 4:50:20 PM

I don't think the retro idea would last long at all. If it were up to me I'd have an arcade section with standalone games and then an internet area with televisions/360s/Wiis/PS3s and couches and shit. Would probably want to separate the two areas because people hanging out and playing casually wouldn't want to be annoyed by the hardcore gamers and vice-versa.

Definitely have a bar in there. If you could get the style right it could be a cool place for non-frat kids to hang out on the weekend and drink. The new-age not quite hipster crowd that seems to be growing on campus. Young people who like to drink and play games. Charge a monthly membership for people who want to come in and game all the time and like a $3 an hour fee for people who want to come in and game randomly.

Basically trying to take all the Wolve's Den business and more because that place sucks.

11/2/2010 4:52:08 PM

YOGURTLAND




BEST yogurt ever. super awesome out here.

11/2/2010 4:52:57 PM

Dave and Busters serves food
I wouldn't

Dave and Busters also isn't a beer bar
they don't carry micro-brews

11/2/2010 4:53:01 PM

oh, so it would be a snobby, yet low rent Dave & Busters that's also dirty.

score.

11/2/2010 4:54:22 PM

Gotta have food at an arcade

Joysticks work best went built up with years of pizza grease

11/2/2010 4:54:33 PM

Basically I'd be going after nerds during the day and Mon-Thurs and normal people who like to drink and play games Fri-Sat.

11/2/2010 4:55:51 PM

Pizza or coffee. Gangbusters.

11/2/2010 4:57:03 PM

I don't think the monthly/hourly rate would work

having console games in the place would require a lot of money to upkeep and those games tend to run longer and demand more time and engagement from the player which means they are spending less time spending money at the bar

the arcade games are mostly a draw to bring people in to spend money on the drinks ($3-4 a pint) and to give the place the atmosphere of retro cool

11/2/2010 4:57:11 PM

Would you have TV's with sports?

I think you'd need at least 3-4 near the bar...otherwise you kill a lot of your potential demographic

11/2/2010 4:59:20 PM

Quote :

"a snobby, yet low rent Dave & Busters that's also dirty"

you wouldn't have to come

ultimately I think hardcore gamers are too cheap to support a bar
gotta go with the hipsters and the young professionals

^ yeah TVs are pretty much necessary in this town - at least for college sports


[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 5:00 PM. Reason : -]

11/2/2010 5:00:13 PM

You're not going to make enough money to stay in business owning a bar on Hillsborough St. There just aren't enough 21 year olds on and near campus. There's got to be something unique about the place to pull people in. All the cheap frat house slut factories are down on the shitty end near UT and they have a monopoly on people who go to Hillsborough St solely to drink. You need to target a different crowd that is also young.

I will say I don't think it would be easy to set up a console+arcade style bar. But if you could get the set-up right I think it would be wildly successful as long as you kept updating the style.

Quote :

"ultimately I think hardcore gamers are too cheap to support a bar gotta go with the hipsters and the young professionals"

exactly, but that's why you go after the more social crowd on the weekends. if it starts getting busy, most of the nerdy kids will want to leave anyway. but you can't make money on only the weekend. that's only half the week. you need money coming in constantly to keep your margins up. Say you could get 100 people to pay between $15-$25 a month for a nice gaming atmosphere. That alone would probably take care of your overhead for the month.

I actually like the idea about the soda machine though. That's something that would be cheap as hell to do and you could charge like $2 a pop. Offer a discount to anyone with a membership.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 5:05 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2010 5:01:06 PM

having consoles requires buying the latest titles and spending gobs of money maintaining the equipment (expect LOTS of broken controllers)

a Wii or something with party games on it isn't a bad idea because multiple people can play but not every person is playing all of the time

but then people will steal your shit

11/2/2010 5:03:02 PM

I like the arcade idea but you would need something that appeals to chicks too so it doesn't end up becoming a sausage fest.

11/2/2010 5:04:22 PM

come on - isn't State already a sausage fest

girls like gaming too!

maybe I could find a local all-girl gaming group and cut them a great deal to have their weekly/monthly meet-up at my place

and there's always Ladies' Night

11/2/2010 5:06:20 PM

^^ Wii. Plus there are plenty of girl gamers these days.

^ That would be a FANTASTIC idea. It would be the biggest night of the month/week whatever.

Man, I really wish I had the money to start something like this. I think the old location that used to be Pi Bar would be a great place to try it.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 5:07 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2010 5:06:30 PM

I think 80's and 90's cartoons and other television shows playing constantly might help too

I know some ladies that would show up if Full House was going to be on for an hour or two

11/2/2010 5:08:48 PM

Model your bathroom after Harrelson's to get in the good graces of the local LGBT chapter

11/2/2010 5:13:31 PM

set em up

11/2/2010 5:14:02 PM