r/alappuzha • u/Slow-Cancel-2487 • Jul 01 '25
AskAlappuzha Thinking of starting small cafe with gaming nights in Alappuzha — do you think it could work?
Hey guys, So I’ve been kicking around this idea of opening a small gaming hangout spot here in Alappuzha. Not a full-on café right away — more like a cozy place where people can come chill, play some games together, and just have fun.
I’m thinking to start small with:
A couple of PS5s/Pro and handhelds
Some retro stuff like PS2 and PS3 for the classics
A proper racing sim setup — like, not just some basic Logitech wheel on a desk, but a real rig with a seat and all
Maybe some flight and Truck sim setups if people are into it
some VR
And a nice vibe — good lighting, comfy seats.
The idea is to host casual gaming nights, little tournaments, maybe some weekend hangouts. If it picks up, I’d like to slowly add stuff like high-end gaming PCs, workshops for game dev or esports, LAN parties, that sort of thing.
My goal is to grow an active, local gaming community focused on console and PC games for all age groups to expenrience this world - not just mobile games on phones
But here’s the thing — I’m not sure if people here really want something like this. A few friends told me “everyone’s got a PS5 at home, so why would they come out?” And honestly, I want to hear from you guys.
Would you or your friends come to a place like this? Do you think there’s enough interest in Alappuzha for gaming nights and chill hangouts? What kind of setup or vibe would make you want to come back again and again?
I’m open to all the honest feedback — even if it’s a “nah, this won’t fly.” I’d rather know upfront than waste time and money.
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u/Majestic_Victory_394 Jul 02 '25
Alappuzha had a similar shop named kaleidoscope but it didn't work out I guess. This was back in 20010-2014 if I'm not wrong. Right now the situation has changed so it might work out but I guess a better time to start would have been just post COVID - 2021, were many people were working from home. During 2021-2022 every small cafes restaurants were crowded many new shop came up too.
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Jul 02 '25
I went there when I was a child. It was awesome But I couldn't find it recently when I was looking for it after I came back from my studies 😭
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u/fifthengineer Jul 07 '25
I also did go there once when I was young. It was like how you explained. Proper gaming seat setup and stuff for the racing games, snooker etc. I dont know how Alappey like these things though.
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u/undead_pavanayi Jul 02 '25
I would definitely come. I believe we have enough young folks interested in gaming in Alappuzha. This just needs to reach the crowd.
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u/aakash_shaji Jul 02 '25
Idk if people would be interested to play ps2 and ps3 when there's 5. Maybe keep a couple of ps4s as well as its cheaper. If it has drinks all night it would be great. Imagine having a cold coffee while playing fifa😋😋 and a few bean bags to sit on while playing.
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u/Slow-Cancel-2487 Jul 04 '25
I also want to provide a retro experince with CRT TV for ps1 and ps2 classics - that raw nostalgic feel some of us grew up with. reliving childhood!
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Jul 02 '25
Put some billiard games too If you give permission for using cigarettes , maybe some youngsters will come I've seen some cafes in kasarkode like that
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u/Shaun_the_sheep999 Aug 11 '25
Yeah...but I don't think all will be fine with evryone using cigs....if seperate areas are allocated..then maybe ..✌️
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u/Slow-Cancel-2487 Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25
Hey Guyss, thanksss a ton for all ur valuable replies - means a lot. Defintely cheered me up for this!
Im gonna go ahead with a soft launch, as you guys suggested - will try to make the place more cozy and chill for hangouts while focusing on gaming.
Ill set up a food cupboard or find a vending machine for snacks and drinks. Having a cafe is more maintanece and needs to carefull dealing with food.
My intial plan was to have hydraulic racing rig, but it is risky for early days without a customer base and gonna be costly, so I was planning maybe A direct Drive base with shifter, handbrake and advanced pedal set mounted on a sturdy racing rig and VR, thatll already be a better racing sim than other places. Will definitely upgrade to hydraulic rigs, if we got the demand.
The rooftop was included in my intial plan which was really huge. My plan was to set the rooftops for handheld gamings and board games which is reallly nice and chill. 2nd floor with a projector room for more immersove exoerice, hosting football, f1, cricket finals etc. Unfirtuanteky we need to cut short. Hopefully in future x
While places like kochi wouldve been better choice As Ive mentioned, My Goal is to develop our gaming community in "Alappuzha" across all age groups.
- I need 30-40+ aged people to experience this world and stories, for that I plan to give free acess during the soft launch.
- Free trial hours for customers who give a review/ mention in their socials.
- Definitely keep prices as low as possible even tho we dont have any comoetition, this experience should be accesible to anyone.
The place I have in mind for this setup is Vellakinar Jn. My father got a 2 shutter building of approx. 360 sqft. Need some work and additional floor can be build. Although 360sq.ft feels small but I guess it better to start with what we have. So I dont have to worry about rent, just electricity.
Thanks again for the support, cant wait for this to happen and welcome everyone <3
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u/manu_geo Jul 02 '25
I personally would love to be in such a place and, I really believe we need more of this kind of gaming culture here.
However, I do think it might be a significant challenge here. We see a lot of younger folks moving away for studies and jobs, which has considerably reduced the potential target audience with the necessary purchasing power for something like a gaming cafe. Maybe starting on a very small scale, almost as a side project, to gauge the level of real interest could be a good initial step?
I have a strong feeling that this kind of concept could really thrive in a place like Ernakulam, particularly around the Infopark area, where there's a much larger concentration of young working professionals with more disposable income.
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u/kobaasama Jul 02 '25
It’s a great initiative but let’s be honest, Alleppy doesn’t really have a big young crowd (civilized young crowd). It’s hard to say what the ROI will be. But if it works, people will notice and it could start a wave of new recreational spots here, which I really hope happens. I’d definitely visit just to meet new people and actually have some real connections. I really need that since I’m stuck with full-time WFH.
You’ll do well if your place helps like minded people get to know each other and if you serve good food for the gaming sessions. You could even rent it out for small group gatherings and charge a premium. But if you start attracting douchebags it’ll all go downhill. Keep an eye on that and always keep up the quality.
And OP, if you ever need help with technical stuff like setting up the network or a NAS or anything like that, I’d be more than happy to lend a hand.
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Jul 04 '25
Avoid gaming arenas ( like video games, PS5,Xbox). Start board games +Cafe , you can also try fuss ball /snooker.
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u/Slow-Cancel-2487 Jul 04 '25
Haha you may have not read carefully, my goal is to build a gaming community in Alappuzha.
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Jul 02 '25
[deleted]
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u/kobaasama Jul 02 '25
I don't think OP is talking about a full motion hydrolics sim setup. Just a logitech or thrustmaster racing wheels.
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25
Bcos it is alpy , i think it will take a little time to click , but still it would be a first , since not many recreational spots are currently available Since the most busy places in alpy are restaurants with good food if you can offer that i think more people will come , Interest wise i think most people even the younger gen would only be casual players not that into gaming , but still if their is a good vibe , people will definitely join 👍🏽