Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Why We Left Our Location And Some Questions To Be Answered pt 1

Hello everyone.  This year didn't close out exactly as expected but I do feel making the choice of finally changing locations is the only option in moving forward with Super Arcade.  I know many people have complained about this scenario, and to some extent they have their right to.  I actually went on stream as soon as things were panning out to explain everything so if you care to watch our "press conference," here is the link. YouTube Link

Basically the video just sums up the major questions of why we are relocating, how much money was wasted at the current location, and whats next.  The main reason we are relocating is because the rent is $6,000 and even with the upgrades and new tourney schedules, it just doesn't make any sense.  My month to month lease was also canceled as of December 4th and I was being forced to either leave or sign a long term lease.  For anyone who thinks it's easy to pay $6,000 over and over and over, regardless of the turnout we have here, please think again.  When business is slow, the bills do not stop.  I have kept the place open for 2 years regardless of what was going on as there was always slow weeks just like any other business.  The arcade business is definitely not profitable but I continued to do it because it is my passion, and I will continue to do so because this is what I live for.  As of this moment I do not have an exact location picked out, but the new spot does have a few requirements.  First off the lease must be no more than $4,500, have ample parking space where cars will not be towed for parking during late hours, and also have a minimum of 3,000 square feet of space.

Now let's get to the part about wasting money.  So basically we replaced the entire flooring in the arcade area, replaced all the lighting, replaced the ceiling, painted the walls and ceiling, and of course.... remodeled the restroom.  I would say a close estimate of roughly $18,000 was used to change and repair the cosmetic aspects of the arcade that are lost.  The only positive out of this was that if I moved, I would have had to repair everything anyways before leaving because the floor and restroom were not even close to usable at the time and I would have lost my deposit of $7,000 had that happened.  So aside from the time spent, roughly $11,000 is wasted but once the new location is up, I will be saving at least $1,500 a month just in rent and that number can easily be recovered.

The last couple months Super Arcade was gaining momentum and the revenue was showing a nice upswing especially since Super Arcade and Level Up parted ways.  I don't know why things aren't obvious that by not having Level Up here, the arcade's revenue is definitely in better shape and people still say things about the situation as if they know exactly what's going on.  Let me break it down real plain and simple....  And this has been on my mind for a very long time but I feel it's time to finally let the truth be told.  The decision for the departure was not brought up on my end, but it was ultimately my choice in the final outcome.  As it was 100% obvious, the arcade was struggling for a very long time, yet the situation I was in was not helping as I was splitting the revenue from venue fees for both #WNF and #TRB.  Funny thing is, I wasn't receiving a split from the stream revenue or possible sponsorship money coming in........  In the beginning, this deal was made almost 4 years ago on a handshake and I wasn't the owner at the time.  My goal was to get people in the building and have them spending money on our arcade cabinets and concessions.  Eventually the tourney crowds started to spend less and less on arcade machines, and just focused on using the consoles on those evenings.  I also became the sole owner 2 years ago and it is partially my fault for not renegotiating the deal.  So all in all, without Level Up being at Super Arcade for the final month I think our income increased at least by $2,000.  I was also irked a bit by the comments posted on Level Up's official website when they released the news of their departure from our location.  Level|Up's Statement  If you read through this, they mentioned that financials became an issue for me, yet they fail to mention they were making almost double what I was making for these events they worked so hard to get me..........  Regardless, we agreed that business is business and at the end of the day, this move was in our favor and I truly have no beef with Valle.  And for the people saying that I used Level Up for our kickstarter and nonsense like that, let me say this.  If anyone wanted the kickstarter to work, it was them because they had so much to gain from my establishment.  I payed the rent, I payed for the electricity, I payed for the internet service, and they had a free ride with no risk.  I was also the one who did all the work in making the kickstarter happen and I received no help from them during the remodel.

So there you have the truth about the situation and now maybe people will fully understand why things turned out the way they did.  I was not ditched by Valle, I didn't kick him out either, and I was foolish for not renegotiating our conditions.  Live and learn and move on.  I will be making another blogpost real soon in regards to some recent conversations I have had with the people who supported us and I want to spend some time to address and share my thoughts on them.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

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