Meltdown (bar chain)
 | |
| Industry | bar  |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1, 2012 |
| Founders | Sophia Metz Manolack Sana Nikone Yann-Cédric Mainguy |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
| Services | Barcraft, Bar, Themed parties, Event management |
| Website | www |
Meltdown is a French bar chain dedicated to video games and eSports.
History[edit]
Based on the idea of a permanent Barcraft, the first bar Meltdown was established in 2012 in Paris in a small bistro on rue Albert-Thomas.[1] It streamed eSports competitions and had computers and consoles available for use by its clientele. The bar moved to a new location on Passage Thiéré, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris on December 21, 2013.
Meltdown is developing in France and abroad with a franchise platform. There are 20 bars in 7 countries.[2]
Model[edit]
Meltdown has a menu of cocktails inspired by the video game universe.[3]
A schedule, varying depending on the city, highlights one specific game each day of the week, with the organisation of a free access tournament. Outside of tournament hours, computers and consoles are available for customers to play games.[4]
Meltdown bars broadcast major eSports[5] competitions on their screens. Meltdown has had a presence at gaming conventions such as Paris Games Week and Dreamhack.[citation needed]
Professional Players[edit]
A team of professional players was created by Meltdown in 2014. The first player to wear its colors was Olivier "Louffy" Hay,[6] followed by Ilyes "Stephano" Satouri.[7] The player Florent "Neo" Lecoanet, a world champion of Super Mario Kart, has since joined the team.[citation needed]
Expansion[edit]
The creation of the Meltdown franchise was announced in March 2013.[8] The bars currently open are:
- France:
- Paris (opened on May 1, 2012 - new location as of December 21, 2013 - relocated September 19, 2020)
- Montpellier (opened on July 12, 2014)
- Strasbourg (opened on January 10, 2015)
- Tours (opened on April 16, 2016)
- Lyon (opened on April 30, 2016)
- Troyes (opened on October 15, 2016)
- Dijon (opened on April 29, 2017)
- Marseille (opened on September 22, 2018)
- Pau (opened on September 29, 2018)
- Chambéry (opened on December 1, 2018)
- Nantes (opened on January 19, 2019)
- Avignon (opened on May 18, 2019)
- Nancy (opened on October 26, 2019)
- Other countries:
- London (United Kingdom, opened on June 1, 2013)
- Cologne (Germany, opened on January 30, 2016)
- Brussels (Belgium, opened on May 7, 2016)
- Montreal (Canada, opened on July 30, 2016)
- Madrid (Spain, opened on February 18, 2017)
- Barcelona (Spain, opened on November 3, 2018)
- Panama City (Panama, opened on December 14, 2018)
- Málaga (Spain, opened on March 30, 2019)
- Sheffield (United Kingdom, opened on May 11, 2019)
References[edit]
- ^ "Le premier bar d'esport en Europe a ouvert à Paris"
- ^ [1], Meltdown, "Meltdown Esports Bars", on www.meltdown.bar (accessed on September 14th 2016).
- ^ [2], "Au comptoir des geeks"
- ^ [3], "Rencontre avec Yann-Cédric Mainguy, co-fondateur du Meltdown"
- ^ [4], "Le phénomène e-sport"
- ^ [5], "Meltdown Luffy, champion de l'Evo : "Une grosse fierté pour l'Europe et pour la France"
- ^ [6],"Stephano quitte EG pour le Meltdown"
- ^ [7], "Reportage - Un bar dedié l'e-sport"