Adam Breeden’s introduction to the hospitality industry — washing dishes at a restaurant — wasn’t glamorous. But he says he was hooked by the idea of designing experiences for customers.
Today, those experiences combine games, tech and upscale food and drinks at venues like pingpong club AceBounce and Flight Club, which opened recently in Chicago with an updated take on darts.
Breeden, founder of London-based Social Entertainment Ventures, plans to grow those brands in the U.S. while continuing to roll out new concepts, including a mini golf venue developed with the team behind Topgolf and another with a new twist on bingo.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My very first job was cleaning food off dirty plates in the pot wash in my local restaurant as I was growing up. I just loved the buzz of the kitchen, the doors opening; you could see the guests out there. I wasn’t even allowed to operate the actual machine that automatically cleans the dishes, so I was really the lowest of the low, but I loved it. It was a real buzz. I just realized that creating an experience like a restaurant for people, you have the opportunity to create a five-sensory experience that is designed to make people happy.
Q: When was the first time you got to do that?
A: I eventually teamed up with my brother to open up a bar-restaurant in London called The Lonsdale, in Notting Hill. I realized that although it was fantastically successful, there is an opportunity to have that level of high execution of food and beverage and design and experience and combine it with an activity that everyone loves to do.
Q: It’s not just AceBounce and Flight Club — Chicago has another pingpong venue, escape rooms, even an axe-throwing concept. Why do you think they’re catching on now?
A: In the old days, before the internet, if you wanted to meet somebody you had to go out to a bar, have a few drinks and try your luck. These days that’s just not necessary. I actually took the view some time back that traditional bars with nothing else going on are really a dying breed. This young audience, they are going to drink, but they’re only going to drink if they’ve got something interesting to do at the same time.
Q: The activities you built concepts around — bowling, pingpong and darts — aren’t things you personally were into. What gave you the confidence other people would be?
A: It’s knowing why something isn’t very fun and what you need to do to make it fun for people.
Q: Can you give me an example? Darts, for instance?
A: To win you have to hit a certain very small part of the dart board on a particular number, it can go on for hours and it’s difficult. I wouldn’t have launched Flight Club just as a darts venue. We created technology to unlock the game play, and then we focus-group it very forensically.
Q: If you could challenge anybody to one of your games, who would it be?
A: We could play darts with Donald Trump. It depends where the darts will end up.
Q: You don’t see yourself as being as suited to the CEO role. What is your favorite part of the business?
A: My favorite part of the business is creating new, shiny things, and just product, experience and detail. What goes into making something great is attention to detail, and I think when you really take that very seriously and apply it to innovation as well, you can come out with something quite special.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
An earlier version of this story misspelled Adam Breeden’s name in the headline.
Twitter @laurenzumbach
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