Meltdown (bar chain)

Meltdown

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.bar

Meltdown is a French bar chain dedicated to video games and eSports.

History

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]

Meltdown Paris Competition League of Legends

Model

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.

Professional Players

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.

Expansion

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
  • Montpellier (opened on July 12, 2014)
  • Lille (opened on September 4, 2014)
  • Aix-en-Provence (opened on October 18, 2014)
  • Bordeaux (opened on December 13, 2014)
  • Strasbourg (opened on January 10, 2015)
  • Toulouse (opened on March 21, 2015)
  • Grenoble (open on April 11, 2015)
  • Nice (opened on November 7, 2015)
  • Clermont-Ferrand (opened on January 16, 2016)
  • Tours (opened on April 16, 2016)
  • Lyon (opened on April 30, 2016)
  • Reims (opened on June 11, 2016)
• Other countries:
  • Berlin (Germany, opened on February 16, 2013)
  • London (United Kingdom, opened on June 1, 2013)
  • Valencia (Spain, opened on May 29, 2015)
  • Cologne (Germany, opened on January 30, 2016)
  • Brussels (Belgium, opened on May 7, 2016)
  • Budapest (Hungary, opened on April 26, 2016)
  • Montreal (Canada, opened on July 30, 2016)

References

1. "Le premier bar d'esport en Europe a ouvert à Paris"
2. , Meltdown, "Meltdown Esports Bars", on www.meltdown.bar (accessed on September 14th 2016).
3. , "Au comptior des geeks"
4. , "Rencontre avec Yann-Cédric Mainguy, co-fondateur du Meltdown"
5. , "Le phénomène e-sport"
6. , "Meltdown Luffy, champion de l'Evo : "Une grosse fierté pour l'Europe et pour la France"
7. ,"Stephano quitte EG pour le Meltdown"
8. , "Reportage - Un bar dedié l'e-sport"