[FSPA] Testing the waters for possible PINCADE in Herndon

Mon Oct 2 16:39:47 EDT 2017

 Hey, I am writing everyone that volunteered to help out with the Pincade or who might be able to get involved.  I am in serious negotiations with another place that is not in retail space but in a "lonely" industrial/business space in STERLING, just a couple miles or so on the other side of Rt 28 that Mighty Mikes is/was on.  It has room for about 10 or 11 games, give or take.  Line up initially will be Avatar, NBA, BOP, Jungle Lord, Captain Fantastic, Indy 500, Corvette, Stern Star Wars, and maybe GB (my Mighty Mikes GB is sold to someone that wanted an open box little used one so he could see the game before he buys), but he has agreed to let me operate it until January).  But I can always replace GB with another one or something else.     

The problem is there will be NO walk-in foot traffic since it is in an industrial park, so I will depend on league play and tournaments to pay the rent, utilities, taxes, insurance, etc.  The other main problem is I cannot simply unlock and leave the Pincade open for a few hours like I was going to do with the other place that I told the landlord/owner I would take (and then he changed his mind) because it was right next to a place that was open 24/7 and no one would steal anything. This other place is in a business park where the other businesses close at like 5, M-F, then it becomes an easy target if it was left open since no one is around this entire business park at night or weekends.  The good part is it does have nice big windows on the end and PLENTY of FREE parking after 5 or 6PM weekdays and on weekends for big tournaments and league nights.  Even though it will not be an official arcade (there just is no zoning for that around the Sterling/Herndon area, and certainly not that is affordable), but I am allowed to have players "test" the equipment, hence leagues, tourneys and general players, especially since the other businesses are not open when this place would be, so they have no reason to care or if i am using all the parking.   

I cannot work to much at the Pincade, (ok, play at my Pincade) most weekends, especially in the Spring/Summer, as when I am there during the day during the week I am likely spending time doing work on the games or showing a customer a game.  Furthermore, I am volunteering to take in a foster care teenager that I have to be home for after school and in the evenings, so sadly my time will be limited in my own Pincade :/   So I am getting back to everyone to see exactly what nights or days they will be able to open and close the place.  Due to the limitations of the financial viability of pinball, and the limitations in zoning, it is going to have to become more and more similar to what Joe had envisioned as sort of a pinball "club house", although there is no hot food/beverage (save for maybe 2 vending machines for drinks and snacks, or perhaps an honor system for snacks/drinks/water) and the space is an open space with carpet and acoustic ceiling tiles, so it is great for a modern machines as far as sound is concerned, unlike typical Pincades where the sound echos due to hard floors and ceilings.  There will be a large coin changer that was at Mighty Mikes, as I purchased it from Mike when he closed.  

My initial thought is that the Mighty Mike league managers (presently Joe and Edan) could have a key and open it for Monday nights, which would mean one of them (or whoever is in charge at the time) will need to open early (6pm?) for practice and close after everyone is done.  Or should keys be trusted to a couple extra league players as well that can come early and or stay late?  I would let the league managers manage that schedule. 

As far as other nights/days, since we have limited staff, I propose being open just a few nights a week and weekends, but that will depend on volunteer's schedule and that is why I need some input from volunteers.  Maybe M, W, F nights, 6PM - 10PM (or whenever league gets done on Monday)?   And Saturday Noon till 11PM?   Sunday noon till 6PM?   I am just looking for ideas/straw man scenarios on the schedule from you, and YOUR availability on any one or more of those proposed schedule days/nights.  I think Monday will likely be covered by league managers/people, so more interested in the other days/nights, or any other days/nights you can make it.   And need to know if you are able to run periodic tournaments?  As an operator and casual-only player, I know little about how they are run, etc, and would need someone that can run them and do the announcements & marketing.  And if you can't volunteer for anything, that is perfectly OK, just let me know either way.  

Thanks -Roland       

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Burke via fspa <fspa at fspazone.org>
To: fspa <fspa at fspazone.org>
Sent: Tue, May 30, 2017 7:43 pm
Subject: RE: Testing the waters for possible PINCADE in Herndon

HI Roland,

As I live in Reston I support the idea and could almost definitely “man” the location at least 1 or 2 days a week.

Keep me updated and thanks for the new machines @ Mighty Mikes!

Thanks,

Matt

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Roland Joyal via fspa
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 3:06 PM
To: fspa at fspazone.org
Subject: Testing the waters for possible PINCADE in Herndon

Hey all, hope everyone had a good long weekend.  As a couple of you know, I had a huge effort last year to open a Pincade in Reston, having a proposal on a small, but expensive $200k+ space.  After all the research and work, contract review, and meetings with county officials, it was all thwarted and rejected ultimately by a conservative panel of merchants that thought pinball is "bad" and attracts the wrong crowd.  I can't begin to tell you how much thought, planning, and ultimately incredible disappointment this project entailed ...I will go more into the details at some point in the future because some of you might find it interesting/sad.

So moving on ....I have a tentative plan for another Pincade (not to be confused with a Barcade or place that serves drink/food) operated by a pinball enthusiast/reconditioner for pinball enthusiasts, and I am in negotiations for a space in Herndon, near the Toll road.  As any reasonable businessman knows, pinball arcades (other than niche markets where pinball is secondary to the main business) is a non-starter and a big loss commercially.  Having said that, in an effort to "only" take a small recurring loss, which I am willing to do for pinball, I would need volunteers to man the place on a regular or semi-regular basis.  So I am just testing the waters to see if there is any interest from anyone and how much help they can lend. 

The "payback" to those volunteers would be all the pinball they can play while they are there for free.  It would require almost no work and no repairs, just a pinball-knowledgable person to open or close the place and stay for a few hours in the evenings and/or weekends, and they can simply play pinball and break bills for people when customers need it to use the changer, and maybe free a stuck ball on a game from time to time.  It will be fairly low key and low volume.  

I see the place open 5 days a week (5pm - to maybe 9:30PM most weekdays) and Friday/Saturday noon till midnight, Sunday noon till 6PM.  This is all speculative, so if anyone even thinks this is something they may be interested in doing one night a week, two nights a week, etc, or for a few hours on the weekend, etc. (with no obligation) please eMail me off-line at JoyalRJ at aol.com   I just want to gauge the interest and possibilities. 

Thanks -Roland    

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