It has been over a year since we began the MELTDOWN eSports bar adventure. You have been supportive from the very start and this has allowed us to grow our network, expanding to three major cities in Europe: Paris, Berlin and London.
Over the course of MELTDOWN’s lifespan we have received a lot of messages from people who would like to collaborate with us, but sadly there wasn’t enough room for everyone. However, we would now like to give all of you the opportunity to realize your dream of making a living from eSports.
Brace yourselves, the MELTDOWN franchise is coming!
We have already received applications from all over the world from people who would like to launch a MELTDOWN bar: the US, Sweden, Spain, Poland, China… the community is everywhere.
That's why we decided to make this official: you can now open your own MELTDOWN eSports bar!
If you start a MELTDOWN franchise, you'll benefit from:
- our assistance in every step; from the set-up to daily work. - our growing network; the power of an international presence. - our partners and sponsors; for great stuff and events all year round. - and all kinds of cool things you can discover on our website
Feel free to ask any questions you may have; let's make this happen together!
sounds so amazing one in colonge for god damn xD its the center of esport in europe xD
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
no, you gave away your freedom for savety (patriot act etc) your freedom is a joke compared to the eu ^^ and a bad one
Seems both the people above me clearly are OT or simply can't read. @Plansir
We have already received applications from all over the world from people who would like to launch a MELTDOWN bar: the US, Sweden, Spain, Poland, China… the community is everywhere.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Drake wrote: sounds so amazing one in colonge for god damn xD its the center of esport in europe xD
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
no, you gave away your freedom for savety (patriot act etc) your freedom is a joke compared to the eu ^^ and a bad one
Also Drake Drake Drake, EU security is a joke as well why do you think that one guy killed a British soldier right outside his garrison with a knife only?
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
no, you gave away your freedom for savety (patriot act etc) your freedom is a joke compared to the eu ^^ and a bad one
Someone is to serious for his own good, me thinks.
We have already received applications from all over the world from people who would like to launch a MELTDOWN bar: the US, Sweden, Spain, Poland, China… the community is everywhere.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Drake wrote: sounds so amazing one in colonge for god damn xD its the center of esport in europe xD
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
no, you gave away your freedom for savety (patriot act etc) your freedom is a joke compared to the eu ^^ and a bad one
Also Drake Drake Drake, EU security is a joke as well why do you think that one guy killed a British soldier right outside his garrison with a knife only?
Dude anyone can do that...knifes are not forbidden unlike guns
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
Don't feel like the NSA will stop monitoring your porn viewing just because you say you have freedom!
I doubt that anyplace except for the largest cities in North America could have even a remote chance of making an eSports themed bar profitable.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
Don't feel like the NSA will stop monitoring your porn viewing just because you say you have freedom!
I doubt that anyplace except for the largest cities in North America could have even a remote chance of making an eSports themed bar profitable.
I know and it bums me out. The Boston Area just got barcraft up an running again, but it so deep into the city and there is no parking. It sucks a little bit.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
We have freedom in most european countries too >_<
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
Canada has all that yo.
Damn you!
Seriously, folks, its pretty clear I was kidding around. I am exicted for Meltdown and people should discuss that rather than my poor attempt at humor.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
Canada has all that yo.
Damn you!
Seriously, folks, its pretty clear I was kidding around. I am exicted for Meltdown and people should discuss that rather than my poor attempt at humor.
For what it's worth: It was not bad and clearly a joke. Nationalism, sigh..
Wow, pretty impressive. This could have a lot of success if placed correctly.
Hopefully you have a good way to help partners find the best locations, it would be unfortunate if these bars missed the chance to succeed.
I guess it makes sense to keep the financials private this early on, but I'm curious about the specifics. Franchise fee, % of revenue, local advertising %, required assets, etc.
I know the only city known in e-sports in Poland is Katowice but seriously ppl... MAKE ONE IN GDAŃSK or at least a little closer north. ~~800-900 km is a tad much and I'm a lazy guy XD
Now we should think of of the opposite of "[insert] is killing e-sports" cause this ROCKS!
On August 10 2013 03:00 ReignSupreme. wrote: Damn as amazing as this would be for Aus I just don't think we'd have the active community for it... well, especially in Adl
Yeah, Adelaide probably doesn't have much of a shot :/ But with Melbourne's Mana Bar closing down, someone should jump on this opportunity. It would have to be Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.
This seems like it would only work for someone who is seriously good at business and seriously into esports (Fighting games, FPS, RTS, and MOBA). I dunno how much it cost to invest and start one of these franchise but it seems like it would be a pretty big risk for even the aforementioned. Not to naysay, but it just seems like you really need a driven, dedicated, and very intelligent person to make it work.
Want one in East Bay, I think something along the lines of bar + icecream + coffee located around university ave. in Berkeley would do well. There's lots of traffic late night around the Cal campus.
its always been a lifelong goal of mine to open up a PC Cafe- I have barista experienc, a business degree, and real estate license. Due to economic recession I dont have much in the way of equity so I'd need plenty of angel investors and a lot of interest in a Meltdown opened up in North Hollywood/Burbank/Glendale/Santa Monica areas before applying for a small business loan. so pm me or reply :D
edit: ofcourse if someone is more well-to-do than me I'd love to work as a bartender/barista part-time
My and my brother recently went to Meltdown in london to watch the TI3 finals and both agreed the place was a dive. We got there early, around 4-5ish and the place was filthy, the floor was covered in dust, the tables and bar where sticky and there was paint peeling off the walls, the place was just generally in a shabby state. The range of drinks available was pretty mediocre too, and the cocktails offered could basically be summed up as Vodka + energy drink + x.
Now don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of a gamer bar for esports, its a cool idea, but it wasn't a very enjoyable place to go drink, even with an esports distraction. Most of these problems could be solved by cleaning properly and applying a lick of paint and some decoration, not piling your trash right in the entrancement and cleaning out the back room so empty cardboard boxes didn't spill over into the bar are would also help.
Props to the guys who organized it though, the quiz was very fun, seeing everyone hunched over trying to work out who the shadows where was great.
On August 13 2013 19:28 YetiFiasco wrote: I signed up just to reply to this thread.
My and my brother recently went to Meltdown in london to watch the TI3 finals and both agreed the place was a dive. We got there early, around 4-5ish and the place was filthy, the floor was covered in dust, the tables and bar where sticky and there was paint peeling off the walls, the place was just generally in a shabby state. The range of drinks available was pretty mediocre too, and the cocktails offered could basically be summed up as Vodka + energy drink + x.
Now don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of a gamer bar for esports, its a cool idea, but it wasn't a very enjoyable place to go drink, even with an esports distraction. Most of these problems could be solved by cleaning properly and applying a lick of paint and some decoration, not piling your trash right in the entrancement and cleaning out the back room so empty cardboard boxes didn't spill over into the bar are would also help.
Props to the guys who organized it though, the quiz was very fun, seeing everyone hunched over trying to work out who the shadows where was great.
WHAT?! TI3 at Meltdown was insane! I've never had such a great time! The bar was packed, atmosphere was amazing. The special cocktails they had for the night all had energy drink in them as a play on that they were staying open till 6am! They also have a bunch that flicked on the screen to the left of the bar, (Had far to many blue flame hellions!)
Paint wasnt peeling off the walls and the backroom wasnt spilling out, it was the boxes of the TI3 patches, lanywards and tshirts they were giving out!
Also big shoutout to the barstaff, guys were really friendly and up for a laugh always!
WHAT?! TI3 at Meltdown was insane! I've never had such a great time! The bar was packed, atmosphere was amazing. The special cocktails they had for the night all had energy drink in them as a play on that they were staying open till 6am! They also have a bunch that flicked on the screen to the left of the bar, (Had far to many blue flame hellions!)
Paint wasnt peeling off the walls and the backroom wasnt spilling out, it was the boxes of the TI3 patches, lanywards and tshirts they were giving out!
Also big shoutout to the barstaff, guys were really friendly and up for a laugh always!
I'm pretty sure I said the event was awesome and fun, I'm just saying I think the place could do with some real polish, it didn't exactly stand out as "a nice place to drink" based on looks, which is what you should kind of go for since first impressions are everything.
I didn't mean it to sound like the paint was falling off the walls, but corners where flaking and the bottom of the pillars and skirting boards where pretty dinged to hell, it was just a load of small things which made me go "huh....."
I'm sure the staff are the nicest people in the world, they always had a smile at the bar and the service was quick despite the crush
Me desperately wanting to be an entrepreneur in e-sports be it playing professionally, creating content, or running a bar/shop/cafe dedicated to esports, something to consider, I'll keep my eyes on this despite being quiet the youngster.
On August 10 2013 01:30 Plansix wrote: Damn it, WHY CANT WE HAVE THIS IN THE US. EU gets everything. Healthcare, free education, Esports bars. All I get is freedom.....
I think this post actually means you're hopefully gonna get the Meltdown in the US too:
We have already received applications from all over the world from people who would like to launch a MELTDOWN bar: the US, Sweden, Spain, Poland, China… the community is everywhere.
I admit I'm more than a bit curious about what the requirements for this franchise would be, and the degree of assistance possible franchisees would receive. How open / closed are the individual Meltdown owner's options?
I think that one in NYC, near Memphis, TN, and somewhere in Florida would all be good places to attempt a Meltdown opening. Unfortunately I think those are the ONLY places that have both the gamer population and the population density to merit the idea of opening a Meltdown a little higher than "absolutely stupid".
If the owners are given latitude they should try to incorporate a Buffalo Wild Wings style, that seems to be successful and is far more popular. Oh... and the obligatory "eSports is being saved!" comment This is good news after the unfortunate circumstances of MLG Columbus.
why would anyone pay to be named meltdown <city> instead of just thinking of a name for themselfes and keep all their earnings? its not like they have a massive marketshare and do loads of advertising from which you would profit.
On August 18 2013 17:07 Sanobot wrote: why would anyone pay to be named meltdown <city> instead of just thinking of a name for themselfes and keep all their earnings? its not like they have a massive marketshare and do loads of advertising from which you would profit.
On August 14 2013 19:12 ItanoCircus wrote: I admit I'm more than a bit curious about what the requirements for this franchise would be, and the degree of assistance possible franchisees would receive. How open / closed are the individual Meltdown owner's options?
I think that one in NYC, near Memphis, TN, and somewhere in Florida would all be good places to attempt a Meltdown opening. Unfortunately I think those are the ONLY places that have both the gamer population and the population density to merit the idea of opening a Meltdown a little higher than "absolutely stupid".
If the owners are given latitude they should try to incorporate a Buffalo Wild Wings style, that seems to be successful and is far more popular. Oh... and the obligatory "eSports is being saved!" comment This is good news after the unfortunate circumstances of MLG Columbus.
You listed a lot of nice cities but you forgot about LA somewhere in there. Plenty of large gaming events in the city and surrounding area e3, blizzcon, lol finals, wcs global final etc. LA is gamers galore year round. You couldn't go wrong opening a meltdown there unless you really screw up somehow. :D
On August 18 2013 17:07 Sanobot wrote: why would anyone pay to be named meltdown <city> instead of just thinking of a name for themselfes and keep all their earnings? its not like they have a massive marketshare and do loads of advertising from which you would profit.
It's a really good question, which is answered on the website. Of course our brand isn't 100 years old nor has ads on prime TV.
But:
Our network is our strength. We have 3 bars in 3 strategic cities at the moment, more to come. Brands and publishers won't bother contacting local venues for advertising their products, they want deals on a global scale, which is what we offer. This insures great partners for all the franchises (sponsors, events...)
We offer complete support prior to the opening and after the opening (help to find funds, do the paperwork, increase traffic...)
We provide franchises with useful tools for every step of the way: global accounting system with statistics to help improve sales, tournament management system, etc.
Another important point is: a lot of people are passionate about eSports and would love to have their own bar, but have absolutely no experience in the field. We provide classes on how to bartend, how to find the right suppliers, how to manage stocks, staff, etc.
Not to mention we do have somewhat of a reputation for being the first eSports bar, and do advertise on major events and streams, which cannot hurt
Haha, this is fucking amazing! I've been dreaming of opening an esports bar since forever :D (just a pipe dream though) This actually makes it that much easier it might even become reality one day!
Love what you guys are doing, eventhough it makes me sad to see in case i ever make it, i won't be unique anymore because you people are already doing such a wonderfull job!
bars for video games are a cool idea, but i see almost zero incentive to become a franchisee. if you need to classes on how to run a bar, you should absolutely 100% not be doing this.
the other stuff is so abstract. what do bar owners in france know about the legal stuff behind bar ownership in other countries? about bar suppliers in a country they dont even live in? why would you need a partnership with razer to host tournaments or anything? getting a pos for your restaurant is a no brainer... that's pretty much a must for any franchise. if you're coughing u pa % of profits to someone else, you should be getting that at least. obviously the financial specifics aren't released, but i cant fathom many scenarios where it is beneficial to pay to become a francisee of a brand that's not even based in your country. you cant even enter a coop with other franchised bars to cut down on purchasing costs
basically, you do the same thing wihtout having to kick up money for little benefit. cool idea, but buying your own franchise just seems very weird
also, i can't say it enough, 40-80k euro (53k -106k USD) is no where near enough to open a bar. It will get you a year of operation. you want at least 500k usd behind that thing, whether through banks, partners or whatever, to allow you a few years to get profitable and weather any storms
On August 20 2013 05:16 QuanticHawk wrote: also, i can't say it enough, 40-80k euro (53k -106k USD) is no where near enough to open a bar. It will get you a year of operation. you want at least 500k usd behind that thing, whether through banks, partners or whatever, to allow you a few years to get profitable and weather any storms
I think you misread this. 40-80K euro is what you need to go to the bank/investors and get a proper loan. Your 500k estimate is far from reality though, you definitely don't need that kind of money to start your bar and face the first few years.
As for your questions about the franchise, for having opened 3 bars already in 3 different countries with different regulations, and having been running them for a while now, I can insure you we do have ways to support the opening of such a business in other countries.
Also, our partners are supporting us because we're a growing international network. If you think it's easy for a local business to get important sponsorship and events, you're deeply mistaken.
Thank you anyway for trying to help by sharing your own experience, though in this case it's quite misleading. An eSports bar cannot be thought of as a regular business, field experience taught us that!
On August 20 2013 05:16 QuanticHawk wrote: also, i can't say it enough, 40-80k euro (53k -106k USD) is no where near enough to open a bar. It will get you a year of operation. you want at least 500k usd behind that thing, whether through banks, partners or whatever, to allow you a few years to get profitable and weather any storms
I think you misread this. 40-80K euro is what you need to go to the bank/investors and get a proper loan. Your 500k estimate is far from reality though, you definitely don't need that kind of money to start your bar and face the first few years.
I guess it depends on the city. In Shanghai or Hong Kong, you'd definitely need 500k.
On August 18 2013 17:07 Sanobot wrote: why would anyone pay to be named meltdown <city> instead of just thinking of a name for themselfes and keep all their earnings? its not like they have a massive marketshare and do loads of advertising from which you would profit.
It's not just the name, it's access to a network that can provide funding and guidance. The benefit of having a well known brand is worth the cost as well.
EPT
unlike guns
This is good news after the unfortunate circumstances of MLG Columbus.
