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On June 23 we officially opened our doors! The previous week was incredibly stressful and I’m sure I was a real pain in the backside to everyone around me. I was tearing my hair out over the silliest little things like being clueless about making coffee. It was more that I was bloody terrified. Excited too, don’t get me wrong, but terrified nonetheless.
Not like Blair, who seems to be able to take everything in his stride; the man is insanely stable. In fact, this blog might turn into a psychological case study based on Blair’s mental stability versus my erratic moods and being clueless on how to run a business.
Meeples Assemble
We had some seriously exciting milestones in the days before we opened, such as our monolithic custom bookcase used for displaying all our games which is not only beautiful but hand crafted by a man of extraordinary talent and kindness, Ewan.
The next milestone was our signage, which I can only describe as glorious. It made the whole thing seem instantly real. Roddy, “the sign man” along with Graham, worked through sideways rain to fit our signs. He has also imparted endless wisdom upon us for which we are in his debt.
We are so thankful to my wife, Kayleigh, who designed all our logos and colour scheme, not to mention her decorating skills. The place wouldn’t look half as good if she wasn’t involved. And Stacy! Blair’s fiancé has been tirelessly baking extraordinarily tasty cakes and goodies. Her surname should be Kipling!
I shouldn’t have started naming people to thank because I could easily fill the rest of this blog with names of people without whose support we wouldn’t have been able to even open our doors. You know who you are and we love you for all you’ve done in helping us achieve this dream.
The Curtain Rises
You want to know how the grand opening went right? Well, if you weren’t actually there, I can tell you that it was absolutely amazing! Far beyond what we were expecting.
Body after body came through the doors, some family, some friends, so many faces we didn’t know and everyone, without exception, was outstandingly positive about the whole endeavor.
Our back room was filled to bursting all day long with seasoned gamers and new arrivals to the hobby alike, all enjoying the atmosphere and our library of games. In A Bind by indie developer extraordinaire, Bez, was a distinct hit. One of the highlights for me was having independent Scottish developers Mark Mckinnon, of Wreck and Ruin fame, and Bad Cat Games’ Justin Morgan Davies in OUR store demoing their awesome games. I loved every minute of it. We were kept going well into the night and eventually closed the doors at 12.30AM! What a day!
The next day felt like it was the first day of normality, although another Scottish Indie Developer, Sarah Kennington of One Free Elephant, came in to demo her games and give us some great advice. Sarah brought with her two games, one of which I had the honor of playing with her and a friend of ours, Kris, and the other we now stock on our shelf. Getting to meet some of these guys has been an amazing experience and has done nothing if not strengthen my belief that board gaming is the best hobby on the planet and home to some of the friendliest people.
The Curtain Rises
You want to know how the grand opening went right? Well, if you weren’t actually there, I can tell you that it was absolutely amazing! Far beyond what we were expecting.
Body after body came through the doors, some family, some friends, so many faces we didn’t know and everyone, without exception, was outstandingly positive about the whole endeavor.
Our back room was filled to bursting all day long with seasoned gamers and new arrivals to the hobby alike, all enjoying the atmosphere and our library of games. In A Bind by indie developer extraordinaire, Bez, was a distinct hit. One of the highlights for me was having independent Scottish developers Mark Mckinnon, of Wreck and Ruin fame, and Bad Cat Games’ Justin Morgan Davies in OUR store demoing their awesome games. I loved every minute of it. We were kept going well into the night and eventually closed the doors at 12.30AM! What a day!
The next day felt like it was the first day of normality, although another Scottish Indie Developer, Sarah Kennington of One Free Elephant, came in to demo her games and give us some great advice. Sarah brought with her two games, one of which I had the honor of playing with her and a friend of ours, Kris, and the other we now stock on our shelf. Getting to meet some of these guys has been an amazing experience and has done nothing if not strengthen my belief that board gaming is the best hobby on the planet and home to some of the friendliest people.
Unboxed Gaming Café - A Moment of Reflection
As I write this we are on day seven. I actually found that hard to believe when I wrote it. We’ve been open for a week?? I think it still hasn’t dawned on me quite how awesome this has been. I mean, I never really saw myself doing this before March this year, far less as a business owner. I’m sure Blair would say the same.
That being said, I think we’re actually doing well. Well, not “well” but not bad, y’know? We’ve been making money, selling games, teaching people about the hobby and having a great time introducing kids to some of our games. As far as running a business goes, I’d be lying if I said we weren’t kinda winging it but we haven’t encountered any real problems as of yet (touch wood), hopefully our naivety in the business world will be one of our strengths.
Well that’s it for this month; you’re up to date. I hope you won’t think twice about dropping in for a coffee or a chat, we’d love to see you all.
Happy gaming!
- Don't forget to check out Issue One and Issue Two of our Unboxed :The story of a Gaming Café journey to see how our cafe came together!