After a month away from our favourite geeks playing their favourite games, the R-CADE team re-opened our venue on July 23rd at the already iconic 121 Saltmarket.
To dip our toes in we started with a private event on the Wednesday prior, just for people that support our Patreon. We packed our new space with as many of our friends and Patrons as possible, to test the limits of our games, our coffee machine and our staffs.
Two days later the shop experienced our first danger: a stag do. A private party booked well before we announced our move, this was the litmus test for if the space worked as well as how to run it and explain the set up to brand new customers. The usual games were played (Micro Machines, Street Fighter) as were the unusual games (Just Dance 3, with a side of Madonna sing-along), and our first booking was a complete success.
A lot of positive feedback came in - despite this there was still much to do. Our window vinyls and signage was yet to go up, our 90s-tastic bathroom was in need of a splash of decoration, and Androo hadn’t moved anything yet. All of that would change by week two. (And Androo would move more things in week three…).
The biggest compliment we’ve heard thus far has been all about the decor. Whether its the walls adorned with childhood memories, a beautiful wall designed by Negative Destination or the 90s bedroom-bathroom: we’re perty.
The official opening weekend was not without its difficulties however.
Day one was fine. A busy Saturday kept us on our toes, introducing brand new customers to our nostalgia experience, while welcoming back favoured familiar faces.
The night was complete with a full session of R-CADE Lates, including an incredibly dapper man in a tuxedo, who when asked why said: “It’s cold.”
Day two immediately presented challenges that our team had not faced at the old venue.
With the introduction of a professional coffee machine we all had to learn a new skill, and got through the first 24 hours without issue. The cafe side of our old venue had been sorely missed during our second stint across the road, and its return has been one of the most celebrated elements of our triumphant return.
On the morning of our second day however - kaput. Our brand new coffee machine was dead, as were our hopes of strong cafe sales.
Glasgow’s love of cake and appetite for games kept us strong though, leaving us ready to fight another day. All issues were handily resolved by the second weekend and we can officially say that R-CADE 2.0 is in full swing and ready to meet any and all of your retro gaming needs.
Now onto our third week of business many of the same faces are still showing up, while I still get to say my favourite phrase 20 times a day:
‘Welcome to R-CADE Glasgow! The Happiest Place on Earth™’
“I think I was running on two hours sleep,” said Androo. “It was all a blur to me. A wonderful blur of smiling faces - which is what we want to hear.”
“I was on holiday. I missed it,” said Lewis. “The christening was amazing”
If you want to see everything that went down during our opening week, or any week here at the shop, we regularly post vlogs to our Patreon account, with end of the month round ups available on out YouTube channel.