Heather Latter
The idea may have taken shape while two friends sat out in a boat fishing but Roger Wickstrom and his business partner, Mike Schnekenburger, turned their idea into a reality in just five short months.
“[Mike] said if you’re serious about this, we can do it,” Wickstrom recalled.
And earlier this month, the pair opened the doors to a family-friendly pool hall and gaming centre, called Player Vibe Billiards & Gaming, at 520 Scott St.
“There is really nothing for kids to do around town so we figured we do something to cater to families and kids,” Wickstrom reasoned, noting it is not a licensed establishment.
“We really want people to know that if their kids come down here, there won’t be any concern with booze,” Wickstrom remarked.
“Everyone who comes in will be expected to be well-behaved and respectful.”
Wickstrom said with licensed facilities, minors have to be out at a certain time.
“We wanted to make it so the kids had somewhere to come, where parents feel comfortable sending their kids,” he reiterated.
“We’re trying to steer away from the typical stereotype of the pool hall.
“That’s why we put a pretty penny into her and made it look really good,” Wickstrom added.
“Some place that parents will want their kids to come and hang out and spend time, rather than walking around the streets.”
Wickstrom stressed all ages are welcome.
“Children 14 and under have to have a consent form signed in order to be here unsupervised,” he noted.
“Until they have a formed signed, they have to be with a parent. . . .
“We’ll try to keep the young, young ones off the pool tables,” Wickstrom added. “But if they’re in with a parent and the parent is going to teach them to play pool, then they are more than welcome to come do that.
The facility currently has three four-and-a-half by nine-foot pool tables and two four- by eight-foot tables.
“We [also] have Xbox Ones, Playstation 4s, Xbox 360, Wii, and foosball,” Wickstrom said, noting they also offer some refreshments—hotdogs, nachos and cheese, chips, cold beverages, and coffee.
“You come in a pay by the hour or half-hour,” he explained.
“We have everything set on timers, so you just come in and play and when you’re done, we check your time and bill you accordingly.”
Wickstrom said the pool tables are $10/hr. plus tax while gaming is $8/hr. plus tax.
They also will be providing birthday and private parties.
“I’m really happy with the response so far,” Wickstrom said, noting they opened the doors Dec. 6 and are planning for a grand opening this Saturday (Dec. 20).
“The kids that have come in have been really, really happy,” he enthused. “Everyone who has come in has been really impressed with the way it looks.
“I was hoping to have it open before Hallowe’en but that just wasn’t realistic,” he admitted.
Wickstrom said it took about three months to transform the building.
“Mike lives in Mexico, so we spent hours and hours on the phone making arrangements, discussing colours and what we were going to do, and ordering stuff,” he remarked.
Wickstrom said they tried to keep everything under wraps until they were ready to open.
“We had looked at the Pizza Hut building by the high school but we figured the renovations would be too costly to get it in shape for what we wanted to do,” he explained.
“We then spoke with Kim Metke [who owns the building], worked out an agreement with him, and he let us take it.”
The pair got into the building Sept. 1 and, with help from family and friends, spent the next three months renovating.
Wickstrom said it’s a ideal building, with 3,500 square feet, and is in a great location.
“There is some parking out back and people can park out front, plus it’s not too far from the downtown area,” he noted.
“Especially at this time of year, if they want to get away from the kids to do some shopping, they can bring the kids by.”
Wickstrom added if people want to come and try out a new game or gaming system, they are welcome to stop in for a couple hours and give it a try.
Player Vibe Billiards & Gaming also will have give certificates available. And it has a large-screen TV for when sporting events are on.
They even will have a swipe card for frequent visitors so they can collect points and redeem them for free time on the pool tables or gaming machines.
“We tried to get top-quality equipment and all the latest games for the game consoles,” Wickstrom said.
“And we got multiple copies of all the latest games, so if three or four kids come in and they want to play the same game, they can do that.”
He said they currently have 280 game titles.
“I have a lot of experience with the technical side, the equipment and video games,” Wickstrom explained.
“And I’ve played a lot of pool—my father is an avid pool player,” he added. “We’d play at home all the time so this something I can do and handle.”
He said the name of the business came from a game domain site that Schnekenburger had running years ago.
“So we figured he already owns the name so we may as well use it,” Wickstrom reasoned.
“It fits right in for what we’re doing here.”
“It’s awesome,” enthused Fort Frances Lakers’ forward Marco Romano.
“It’s a nice place, brand new.
“The people who own it have been really friendly,” he added. “There’s not much to do in Fort Frances so this has been great.”
In fact, Romano said many of the team’s players have been there each day since it opened its door.
“Everyone should come down and check it out,” he urged.
While not set in stone, the hours of Player Vibe Billiards & Gaming will be Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
For more information, call 271-3362 or 276-3672.
