Just a quick update for those of you who are interested. In order to open shop there are a few requirements. You need to acquire a business permit which is granted by the city's "planning division" and allows you to run whatever type of business you applied for. These permits are attached to a specific address and once approved are stuck to that address. For this reason I have been paying the lease on our location since September due to the fact that a permit for "arcades" is no longer being issued so we had a cut off time to make this happen. After receiving a business permit you must then apply for a business license which is granted by the "building division" once they see your plans and layout you have for location. This step is much more complicated than people think and this is where a lot of time and money has been exhausted. You must hire an architect to draw up these plans and the costs for this is kind of ridiculous. After paying the architect you must now hire engineers that will then put their stamp of approval on these plans and guess what? Each engineer charges for placing their stamp on our drawing. We needed an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer, and a plumbing engineer to overlook, approve, and then stamp our drawings. We also had to pay for "title 24" work to be done along with making sure everything is ADA compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act).
This has been a complete nightmare for me as I have literally done everything I can which includes hiring a second architect to push things along faster. I understand people are itchy to get back to attending Super Arcade and trust me when I say no one wants this to happen sooner than me. Each review has taken so much time and the funny part of all this is that by law, the planners can take 30-45 days to review each correction. Fortunately this is not the case and each review has never taken anything close to that. So to sum it up, I am still waiting on final approvals from the city for our plans so my construction team can finally finish up everything. Once construction begins the shop will be open in less than a month. Everything needed to open has already been purchased long ago including new monitors, set ups, etc etc etc. Some details have been left out cause I do not want to offend anyone as I do not know who might be reading this, but I can promise you that I have been extremely polite and courteous to all the city officials during this entire process. So now I am just sitting here as anxious as anyone to get back to doing what I love. Thanks for reading and hope that sums things up.
I plan on opening my own arcade in South Florida, should I expect the same headaches or is most of the crap you've been through confined to California?
ReplyDeleteReally depends on how your area views what an "arcade" is. The general idea of arcade in southern california is that its full of gangsters and druggies...
DeleteHi,
DeleteUnless you're Rick from Arcade Odyssey, don't bother. You're going to need more money than you'll be able to put into it, and even AO doesn't get enough turnout anymore. :(
Excuses after excuses about things you should have known about long before committing to that location. I bet any other arcade doesn't take this long to open for a real good reason. Good luck after all the bridges you burned. Bad karma + bad decisions = year long delays
ReplyDeleteCute name. You gonna make that bet with imaginary money? The coffee shop down the street took 1 year to open from date of start. But hey, you know everything right? I dont burn bridges either, unlike you have probably has no bridges to burn. Good luck in life. You seem like you will make it very far.
Deletethis commitment is bs. his best shot is to do it "circus style": rent out venues on a per-event basis and get a uhaul.
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ReplyDeleteNot trying to be rude to watts, i want you to succeed. But dude...Azusa obviously didn't want you or your business in there city. Really think you shoulda said fuck it months ago as it's becoming a never ending money pit with endless hoops because they simply don't want an arcade in their city.
ReplyDeleteHope I am wrong, but seriously sooooooo much money down the drain to a city that obviously just wants you to pay until you go bankrupt or have another kickstarter. Good luck Watts, I don't want you to fail man, but if it walks like a duck quacks like a duck and is genetically proven to be a duck it's most likely a fucking duck
Just grinding through and following everything they want at this point. The problem with all this is that there is not many cities that will grant you a permit to open an arcade.
DeleteI can agree on money down the drain though. Literally over 24k just in lease money and the headaches of going back and forth trying to appease the city has been crazy.
I was really scared this was going to happen if you got a permit after the live stream of the hearing. Really hope it turns out well, just seems like a fuck job waiting to happen bro.
DeleteLike i said nothing but good luck, just be careful amongst those snakes.
the bathroom issue at the last location was the tell. city's giving him the run around.
DeletePeople who aren't grandfathered in don't understand, Mike. I was in the process of opening a medical office and went through the same stuff - architects and engineers and ADA compliance is not easy. It's really a headache to open your own business. Keep your head up. It'll be done soon!
DeleteJust keep doing everything by the book. The people will come back when you get things running.
ReplyDeletedefinitely will man. no shortcuts and no mistakes this time.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering Michael. In retrospect, would paying what the owner wanted at the original location been better then having to go through what you've been going through now?
ReplyDeletelast location was too small and rent was too high. $6,000/month and could barely fit 100 ppl comfortably for a tourney.
DeleteJust wondering Michael. In retrospect, would paying what the owner wanted at the original location been better then having to go through what you've been going through now?
ReplyDeleteHowdy Partner!
ReplyDeleteHave to admit, I agree with @whitetrashshayno. I mean, there is no guarantee that your business is going to be a success... You've had nothing but losses from the start and there isn't even an impending opening date... or any tangible proof that there is even an arcade in the making.
ReplyDeleteand I'm not hating or anything like that, I'm all for a arcade scene... I just think you're better off doing something with all this time and effort, rather than struggling to open something that is dying out anyway.
Its your passion, I get that, but damn, you need to know when to cut your losses or at least come up with another plan. Its doesn't give a good impression from the outside as well... I mean, who is really going to want to invest in a business that has been struggling from day 1?
All the best to you, OldManWatts, you're a legend within the fighting game community, I'd hate to see you lose what is important to you.
There is no guarantee. But I am still in touch with a lot of the socal players and I know they will still attend. The new location is set up financially to succeed in terms of lower overhead so there will be much less stress to make ends meet and keep the shop running. Appreciate the care though and hope you can visit sometime!
DeleteAnime scene is waiting for Super Arcade! :D Do what you gotta do Watson! Eagerly waiting and much love and support for all that you do!
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for your very consistent support of your scene and our location. Hope to see you soon!
DeleteGood luck on the opening. It's difficult to open a business these days. Some cities have crazy rules and corruption. Once you open, things will be much better. You will have something unique that is in high demand. It's not just an arcade. It's a competitive gaming venue. Keep pushing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the support. I has been a long battle that will hopefully end soon and with great results.
DeleteDamn Mike, I really hope it turns around. This just seems like a never ending looping nightmare. I worry this may bury ya. Love ya bro!
ReplyDeleteHello MILFhunter. Thank you for always being a good guy in the scene and a friend. Hope we can hang out sometime soon and thanks for the encouragement.
DeleteI actually live in azusa 5 minutes from the originally planned location in the shopping center. I've been following this since i've heard about it and hope the best. I will be attending day one! Goodluck
ReplyDeleteThank You Evan. Hope to see you there once we are up and running!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear you are pushing to reopen... I frequented SuperArcade back maybe ten years ago after falling in love with that old Simpsons Pinball machine... I recall going back one day to see if the pinball was still... Sadly it was gone but what I did find was a transformation from a few games and a pool table to a crazy pop'n fully packed arcade with big screens everywhere..... With all nostalgia aside... Happy to hear you are reopening soon. Become cool like Flin's arcade from the original Tron !! Digitalmayor
feel bad for you man, really. just yesterday i was at redondo beach playing a bad (but original) sf2ce. don't think this idea as-is is meant to be. they're giving you the run around.
ReplyDeleteI thought about this issue once pertaining to it being so difficult to obtain a permit to open an arcade in Socal. Being 100% ignorant of all the legal specifics, I've always been unsure of it's validity of my solution but the logic it uses may help somehow. What I always wondered was would it be possible to register an arcade under the label of an "Electronic/Digital Martial Arts Studio" and use the rules that other traditional dojos use to open. I mean I figured that aside from the insurance costs, due to the variety of locations they appear in, there must be comparatively less regulations about them. Just an naive thought.
ReplyDeleteMike, this is Ike Miller here. Can't seem to post a comment; google is giving me issues with the ID. I haven't been active but I went over to mt Sac on Tuesday and saw that the arcade location was closed, and a player told me it had been gone for over a year due to lease issues :( Glad I was able to find this update here.
ReplyDeleteI was coming down to hopefully see you and Alex there and I wanted to thank both of you for keeping the arcade community up and running all of this time. I haven't been down there since you guys had the display of the Lebron james-led Heat beating up the Thunder in the NBA finals awhile back. I've been dealing with serious back issues so I haven't been active. I wish I could have been more active and kept up with people. Had no way to contact you at all :( I Hope you manage to get everything resolved. I might not even be in the area in a few months and God knows how long I will be able to function before paralysis kicks in; I hope I can game as long as possible. Please keep the Fighting game community going and work as hard as you did when you were a player!
Delete-Ike Miller
What about opening up as an internet cafe? Or a computer/develop co-op? We have both of those in Philly. While not 100% fighter focused, they both host tournaments and aren't labeled as "arcades." Best of luck Mike.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a May update coming for us? I'm in SGV which is basically a deadzone for FGC-friendly arcades. The passion is slowly fading....
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