Pizza Marketplace - Winter 2007 - (Page 20) Dining-room devices By Richard Slawsky W hen the owners of popular Milwaukee pizzeria Pizza Shuttle added an old-time photo booth to their dining room, they weren’t expecting a lot. Boy, were they in for a surprise. “I thought we would do maybe five pictures a day, but we are doing about 30 a day,” said Mark Gold, who co-owns Pizza Shuttle with partner Louie Siecinski. “I can’t believe how well it’s going.” Booth users range from college kids looking for a memento to baby boomers seeking a piece of nostalgia. He’s surprised, he said, that in this day of computers and social Web sites, people still like to perch themselves on a stool and have fun in front of a mechanical camera. The partners paid about $7,000 for the Face Place Photo Booth, designed by Garwood, N.J.-based Face Place in cooperation with Polaroid. The restaurant earns $1.50 for every $2 set of photos taken. “At that rate, we’ll have earned back the cost of the booth in less than a year,” Gold said. “After that, it will be pure profit.” attractions such as photo booths, video games and other devices can be a good way to boost revenue while keeping customers entertained. However, before an operator purchases a game and plugs it in, there are a few things to consider, said Lutz Reissmann, owner of Lexington, N.C.-based Arcade Games. One of the first things to think about, he said, is what type of games to offer. “The kids today are so well versed in the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Wii that a lot of times the arcade games just don’t interest Deciding what to play For pizzeria owners, dining room 20 WINTER 2007/SPRING 2008 | PIZZ A MARKETPLACE REPORT
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