Sweden appears to be on a roll, recently. Earlier in the month, Stockholm made headlines when the city opened an affectionate homage to Portal with its Aperture Science Cafe. Today, it looks like the Swedes are stepping up their game, so to speak, by opening the country’s first ever “gaming bar” in Gothenburg. The city, located on the scenic western coast of Sweden, is the second largest city in Sweden, and is being called one of the most inventive cities in modern culture. Adding to the many artistic and historic gems located there, Gothenburg’s own Samuel Korsell (age 30) and partner David Krantz (age 25) will open the doors to their gaming bar, GG Bar, on January 6th, 2016.
The Goteburgs-Posten reported earlier today with a statement from both founders. The inspiration for the bar came up when Korsell, who had previous to this resided in Gothenburg for 8 years, noticed the niche created by the complete absence of relaxing and inviting nightlife environments for gamers.
We felt that the bar life lacked something for us. So it was clear that there would be a gaming bar.
GG Bar will mark the country’s first ever permanent sports bar to find a home. It appears there was a spotty history of short lived attempts in various cities, as well as a few good gaming events held individually in various bars. Krantz and Korsell’s grand opening will be the start of something new for Nordic gamers the area, as well as a neat travel destination for foreign gamers. The bar boasts of holding a niche similar to a sports bar, but for video games. Korsell is quoted:
We will run the e-sports programs just like a regular sports bar broadcasting football. But we will also experiment with the console evenings, board games and various temakväller that has nearby things to do as cosplay and quiz.
Additionally, both founders wish to reassure future customers that GG Bar will remain similar to other bars. The menu will consist of burgers and ribs, as well as a vegetarian and vegan menu. To kick things off with a bang, GG Bar will be hosting an Awesome Games Done Quick event for 2016. For those who aren’t in the know, AGDQ are a charitable organization of gamers who perform speed runs of challenging and classic games for charity–three times rocking up a sum of over one hundred thousand dollars…just by playing video games. This event promises to be hugely fun, and founders hope the opening of the bar helps bring the community together. The charitable speed run will also be viewable online.
GG Bar opens on January 16th of 2016, on Chapel Road 12 in Gothenburg. For more information, you can always visit the founders kickstarter, where Krantz and Korsell have already surpassed their set goal–skål!