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Q&A with Scott Helstrom – Gamers Garage General Manager

Gamers Garage General Manager

Adding Game Rooms to Restaurants

We recently spoke to Scott Helstrom about the decision-making process of adding game rooms to restaurants and his experience of working with Betson on their latest projects.

About the Company

The Cohn Restaurant Group is a family-owned and operated company based in San Diego California and has been in business for over 33 years. Thru that time the company has grown and continued to open award-winning restaurants and bars. We currently have 27 restaurants in operation around San Diego, Southern California, and Hawaii with several more in the development and construction stages.

About Scott Helstrom Gamers Garage General Manager - I am responsible for all gaming, amusements, vending, and ATM machines across our group. My role has grown with the company starting as the arcade manager for the Corvette Diner. As we have grown as a company and added games and amusements to more properties, so too has my role.

About the Decision Making Process to work with Betson. 

How did you hear about us?

Back when we relocated the Corvette Diner to Liberty Station, the decision was made to add an arcade to the restaurant. Betson was one of the companies we reached out to for an opening game list bid.

What challenges were you facing to make you look for alternatives to your current business model?

At the time we got into gaming and amusements it was simply a matter of having an empty space and deciding that games would be a good way to fill it. Now things have changed. As costs of product and labor continue to rise, we are looking at additional revenue streams to help offset those costs.

What we love about games and amusements is their low overhead cost and generally good return on investment. Because of this, we have been adding arcade games to most of our new properties as we are building them out.

Describe the top reasons you chose to work with us.

Having worked with a few other distributors over the years, I greatly appreciate the level of service we get from Betson. My sales rep is very straightforward when discussing new equipment purchases and will tell me whether a piece I am considering is a good earner. Our delivery guy is one of the best I have ever seen and goes above and beyond to help us get the equipment in place and set up. To me, that level of service is worth it.

Can you measure any increases in revenue or growth since you upgraded or installed the game room?

In our case, we typically add equipment during the build and construction phase on our projects. It is difficult to determine if the games have driven additional property revenue. I can say that most of our installations boast solid revenues and earnings from the games, and this is all added revenue with no real additional labor costs involved.

What has Betson done in particular that has helped you to be successful?

Being quick to respond to inquiries, quick to ship parts when necessary, and having a great sales rep who honestly talks about what is hot and what isn’t.

Do you think the investment in our product was worthwhile? Why?

Absolutely. Games are really great money-makers. Once the game has earned what it cost us to purchase, it's almost pure profit from then on.

 

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