In a League of Its Own: 810 Billiards & Bowling Is the Only Dining-and-Entertainment Concept Growing Through Selling Franchises

810 Billiards & Bowling**,** the new concept from South Carolina that blends a full-service dining-and-bar experience with an array of entertainment options, offers investors a unique opportunity: It’s the only brand in this specific category of hospitality with a franchise model.

Other big names in this space include private, corporate-financed brands like King’s Lane, Dave & Buster’s and Main Event, which do not offer franchising opportunities. The massive scale of the spaces requires them to be capital-intensive ventures that require them to concentrate on big, densely populated markets in order to succeed.

“We’re the only business of this kind that’s a realistic option for an individual investor. There’s nothing like it in franchising,” said Mike Siniscalchi, president of 810 Billiards & Bowling. “Even high-net-worth individuals, that may have access to private equity or sophisticated structured products, don’t have a way into the eatertainment sector, which we’re intending to solve.”

Unique business model

With a range of activities from bowling and billiards to arcade games and even an 18-hole mini-golf course combined with upscale dining and a lively bar, 810 is designed to work on a smaller scale than other brands, while offering an easy-to-replicate business plan.

“Big players have proved that an upscale bowling and billiards experience combined with elevated cuisine is a good sector to be in from a business point of view, but they’re not sharing that with anybody,” said Siniscalchi. “We’ve taken a different approach. We decided to build using a smaller footprint that is more appropriate for middle-market cities, which big players avoid because it’s harder for them to succeed there.”

For Siniscalchi, the reason comes down to a matter of start-up and operating costs. “A big brand spends $10 million dollars to start the business. They’re building from the ground up for a 60,000-square-foot space,” he said. “At 810, we can get a typical 20,000-square-foot space built-out for about $2 million. And landlords typically pay up to 40% of the cost.”

Growth and expansion

Siniscalchi said that the brand will have eight units signed this year and estimates that they will have 20 by 2024.

With franchise agreements in place for Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Greenville, South Carolina; a soon-to-open franchise in Chandler, Arizona; and corporate locations in Houston and Phoenix, the brand is already proving that its lower-capital investment approach is working.

The brand’s first franchisees are Poonam and Ronak Manek, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs, who ran a pharmacy business in Chicago before looking for an opportunity with a less-taxing industry. They’re excited about opening in May 2021 and think that 810’s franchise concept will be a key to their success.

“I can’t think of any line of business that doesn’t have large corporations already in play,” said Ronak. “Ice cream, swim schools, preschools, restaurants, learning, entertaining — to reinvent these categories you have to have a really, really good idea to stand out. We don’t have that. We needed a franchise that would help us.”

That’s the whole point of the 810 franchising model, Siniscalchi said. “Food and entertainment can be an incredibly profitable combination, but it’s proved difficult for a lot of businesses to pull off,” he said. “We’ve created a model that is so simple and streamlined, there’s really nothing else like it in franchising.”

“Our total projected investment is not far off from, and sometimes less, than some larger-scale food-only concepts,” said Joel Neumman of Franchise Finders. “The gaming side to our business elevates our margins above typical food and beverage-only brands providing a safety net and much quicker ramp-up to positive cash flow. To date, our locations have been cash positive (after debt-service) from day one.”

The initial investment to franchise with 810 Billiards & Bowling ranges from $1.8 to $3 million, including a $50,000 franchise fee and less landlord contribution which can be substantial. The brand is actively seeking franchise owners in markets across the U.S. For more information on franchising with 810 Billiards & Bowling, please visit 810bowling.com/franchising.