NEW New Arcade Coming to Cincinnati 2018: SUPERCADE

Maybe you checked with the state for business entity name clearance. Trademarks are national, not state-by-state. "Supercade" is trademarked. You cannot use "Barcade" for a business establishment either as it's trademarked also. You should consider a new name. Van will protect her name vigorously. It would be a shame to throw out the kickstarter money over copying someone else's name.

but this :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGNoBDVi3NU
 
Don't EVER tell the owners of 1984 this.

http://www.1984arcade.com

They've been around for over 10 years now and are thriving with this exact business model. It may not always work but it definitely can in some cases.

Okay... they are an exception to the rule then. Not a case in which any classic arcade will work. The location being where it is, it's probably dirt cheap rent compared to say...Cincinnati... which is the 65th largest city in America.

I'm not going to go dig up all the information but my guess is that rent for the same type of area is probably double the cost there by comparison. So you'd need to pull in twice the people or charge twice as much to stay afloat.

Sure you can run a small arcade in a small town and maybe make enough profit to sustain a small family... if the entire family is also employed at the arcade. But it's not like we don't have thousands of closed arcades as evidence that the business model doesn't really work anymore. (again except the rare exceptions like you mentioned)

Add to this fact that he's competing against multiple nearby barcades... That have alcohol.... and I just see this as inevitable failure.
 
Maybe you checked with the state for business entity name clearance. Trademarks are national, not state-by-state. "Supercade" is trademarked. You cannot use "Barcade" for a business establishment either as it's trademarked also. You should consider a new name. Van will protect her name vigorously. It would be a shame to throw out the kickstarter money over copying someone else's name.

Federal trademarking is a funny thing though.
In some cases you can get denied trying to brand something that uses a very general term that is an accepted and used terminology within an industry.
Barcade as a brand was trademarked before "barcades" were really a thing (let alone and industry).
They got that one early on, after all their slogan is "The Original Arcade Bar".
If it were not already taken, I'm not sure they would issue a trademark on that name in light of that becoming an entire industry.
You can potentially get denied a federal trademark if they deem you are using too general of a term.
Then again, maybe not and it might just slide though.

EDIT: BTW, there is such thing as a state trademark and a federal trademark. They are two different things. You can even get an international trade mark, but good luck with the rest of the world (places like China) respecting it.
 
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There was an arcade in the 80's in the mall by me called Supercade. Great memories.


Picked up this sign a few years ago. Went to Van.

https://www.instagram.com/p/cxrECoJTu9/
11287865_1089567211060459_1930314450_n.jpg
 
Okay... they are an exception to the rule then. Not a case in which any classic arcade will work. The location being where it is, it's probably dirt cheap rent compared to say...Cincinnati... which is the 65th largest city in America.

I'm not going to go dig up all the information but my guess is that rent for the same type of area is probably double the cost there by comparison. So you'd need to pull in twice the people or charge twice as much to stay afloat.

Sure you can run a small arcade in a small town and maybe make enough profit to sustain a small family... if the entire family is also employed at the arcade. But it's not like we don't have thousands of closed arcades as evidence that the business model doesn't really work anymore. (again except the rare exceptions like you mentioned)

Add to this fact that he's competing against multiple nearby barcades... That have alcohol.... and I just see this as inevitable failure.

Of course that doesn't work in all places and yes, their overhead is probably relatively low there. But it isn't a guaranteed recipe for disaster either; in some places it can work and at 1984 it does.

In fact, I frequent the Game Preserve arcade which is located in Houston and it too doesn't serve alcohol. You pay to get in or you get a monthly membership. It's doing fine as well.

So no, I'm not expecting that you can just open up an arcade anywhere and that business model is the key to becoming incredibly wealthy but it can and does work outside of the parameters you've outlined.
 
In fact, I frequent the Game Preserve arcade which is located in Houston and it too doesn't serve alcohol. You pay to get in or you get a monthly membership. It's doing fine as well.
.

The GP is BYOB which is awesome!
 
There are a lot of arcades without alcohol that are doing just fine. Some have even removed alcohol and business went up....because it opens the door for more people to come in.

The GP which is owned by members here struggled in the beginning because they had terrible locations but then they got a location in a busy strip center with lots of foot traffic and have thrived from what I can tell. Its great for someone that likes to drink beers and play games, you can bring in a small cooler and camp for as long as you like on the cheap.
 
Craft Beer was a 1.6 BBBBBillion dollar business in Cincinnati in 2016 .It is Projected to be a 2.3 BBBBBillion Dollar business in Cincinnati in 2017 BTW thats a 23% increase year over year and expected to grow again in 18 .If i were going to try doing what you are doing i would split overhead costs and make a good partner with a growing Micro Brewery it is HUGE and a
win/ win for the Brewery Good luck
 
i think it's for the best.

nothing against anyone that likes the name, but i think it's generic and boring. would be cool to see them be a bit more creative/unique with a name.

i hope it all works out for them regardless :)

they need to call it something cool like barcade.

you know its a bar mixed with an arcade.

crazy original
 
After years of thinking about it, we've finally done it. We're opening an Arcade. We want it to be a great meeting place for all gamers and are very excited about it. If you're in the Cincinnati area or close, or if you just love the idea of another classic arcade coming to the world we would love to have your support! Our Kickstarter link is below and we would truly
be honored if you can join us in building a great place. There are some great reward levels to suit everyone. If we get funded you get some nice stuff and become part of the excitement.
Thanks for your consideration.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1535877558/supercade-the-arcade-of-the-past-present-and-futur
This is really exciting! Best of luck. As others have said, the entry fee business model can and does work. I've talked to some arcade owners over the past few months and learned a lot from them. Galloping Ghost, Hyperspace80s, Pixel Blast...they're all using this model, and they're all successful. If I'm in Cincinnati, I'll definitely drop by! :)
 
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