81 replies to this topic

[jimht]

 

 

So, my new question is, how do  slot car shops in malls do compared to the traditional strip shopping center or warehouse styles shop? If the rent is reasonable, do they do enough business?

So many expert opinions...

Mike, you're welcome to call me or P.A. anytime.

[Dennis David]

You know what they say about opinions ;-)

[Samiam]

This track is in a mall;

Auburn Raceway

550 Center St in Auburn Maine in the Auburn Mall.

[MSwiss]

You could end up doing "babysitter" duty for Mom and Dad while they go shopping or to a movie.  A room full of screaming kids running around would probably put an end to your "hard core" racers.  Might need some heavy duty insurance policies too.  Otherwise it could really increase the business.....

Always a tough deal by me on Saturdays, especially in the Winter.

 

Balancing (sometimes) screaming kids with rentals, with the serious Hardbody guys, getting ready for Saturday night racing.

I'm lucky my regulars are real understanding that I can't refuse that rental business.

 

As far as babysitting, that doesn't happen in this day and age.

 

The only time any adult drops a minor off, and runs off, at least one kid is of high school age/someone they would leave at home, alone.

 

I remember riding my bike with my sot car box to the raceway. Was I being baby-sat? Probably LOL

I have fond memories of the bike rack in front of B&C Hobby Shop.

 

This past Summer, I had a 12-13 (?) year old fall in love with slot cars, while his mother picked up a pizza next door.

 

A day or two later, he made the semi-impressive 1 mile bike ride to visit my shop.

 

With a small sack full of change($5-10), he offered to start buying slot car parts to (eventually) assemble a complete car.

 

I wound up fixing his bike for free and also giving him a sweet running, used, Champion Astro-Flex, with an RJR C can motor, the whole time, dreaming how good he would look with a Chicagoland Raceway broom in his hands.

 

His mother, who had demanded to analyze and OK the original plan/transaction, came to pick him up.

 

I got sincere thank yous from both and never saw them again.LOL

[JohnnySlotcar]

Had a track in a huge indoor sports complex. Kids with an hour between their games would "play" with the rentals. Imagine adrenaline fueled teams. What a nightmare. Hardest part was keeping the soccer balls off the track! They would try to make laps with them. LOL

[Dennis David]

Mike, there could be lots of reasons why you never saw them again but for one short afternoon you made the world a better place.

[MSwiss]

It wasn't like I didn't have an ulterior motive.

 

But, I never even had a chance to show him the broom. LOL

 

This is an upper middle class area, but he did not ooze of cash.

 

He could raced for free, something I would of killed for, as a kid his age.

 

I felt like it was a privilege when Charlie let me fill the pop machine.

[Dennis David]

Get an iRobot, their cheaper. LOL

[Michael Jr.]

I'm doing some serious figuring.....will get numbers from the mall tomorrow in just what kind of money they want.
Good news is they really really want something like this in the mall. It's all clothes and sports stores right now. No entertainment venue since the old arcades died. And they have race track envy of a mall in Charlotte. They feel this is novel and grabs attention so they are working with me....so far. Tomorrow will tell the tale.

So now it's got me wondering if I can actually make a living. I need to clear.....maybe $1100 a week to pull it off. A little more would be better but I can keep my cable tv if I make that.

[Michael Jr.]

Oh and summer? That's the busy time for a mall. Kids out of school and such. So it's inverse from my existing shop (which is doing well and I plan to keep virtually as it is).

[Samiam]

Mall traffic can vary by location.

 

[kvanpelt]

I have not read this entire thread, so maybe someone has touched on this already, but as a racer I would not be happy hauling all my stuff across the parking lot, through the mall common area, to the raceway. Just too much effort for an old, fat guy!

 

This being said, the exposure would likely be great. Question is, do you want to be a raceway or entertainment center for the casual rental?

[Rick]

Michael, if you can get a good deal on rent in a MALL , take it. I had a store in a real small Mall for a short time and it was fantastic. $500 track rental from Noon to 6 PM, every lane filled with cars on both tracks. $600 a week in games by the midway, pinball, video etc. Didn't need to ever turn furnace on, use midway heat and elec and trash  were only bills. Racers will still come and race in the later hours. It's a total Win-win.

 

We raced to after midnight, many Saturdays and the racers had to use our rear entrance to get out, Mall entrance was locked. 

 

Kids saw group racers going real fast with wing cars and sold 20+ pre mounts a week. 

[Michael Jr.]

Michael, if you can get a good deal on rent in a MALL , take it. I had a store in a real small Mall for a short time and it was fantastic. $500 track rental from Noon to 6 PM, every lane filled with cars on both tracks. $600 a week in games by the midway, pinball, video etc. Didn't need to ever turn furnace on, use midway heat and elec and trash  were only bills. Racers will still come and race in the later hours. It's a total Win-win.
 
We raced to after midnight, many Saturdays and the racers had to use our rear entrance to get out, Mall entrance was locked. 
 
Kids saw group racers going real fast with wing cars and sold 20+ pre mounts a week. 

I hope to pull this off. My problem is keeping the hours a mall requires. I would need to move in and live at the shop. I would need to commit to hiring someone at a regular minimum wage.

[Rick]

I hope to pull this off. My problem is keeping the hours a mall requires. I would need to move in and live at the shop. I would need to commit to hiring someone at a regular minimum wage.

They allowed me to have slot hours. 5 till ? weekdays and Noon till ? weekends.....

[Michael Jr.]

They may.....but initially they pointed out that the hours of stores are universal for all the mall stores.

[macman]

I once frequented a raceway in a very busy mall; the first 6 months was rentals galore, with races after 9 pm. The 2 tracks were in a small space next to one of the rear entrances to the mall, across from a 4plex movie, so late night egress was not really a problem. There was no pit space; after about 6 months the rentals slacked off & the place had to subsist on racers they also carried very little stock... the whole thing lasted less than 18 months. 

 

There is a raceway in North Myrtle Beach, in a mall, been there a long time, sells NASCAR memorabilia too... track is very dusty from what I hear... Think it is named Collect This.

[brucefl]

In a mall the racetrack would have to be a full fledged hobby shop/toy store,dealing with everything r/c planes cars,maybe even a craft shop then you're talking that should allow the slot car aspect to survive.

Wasn't big daddy's in flushing like that?

[brucefl]

So now I know what I have to do if I concierge starting a commercial track.

[brucefl]

So why don't we embrace that as a model for commercial tracks as the model,the toys r us model.

[brucefl]

Hobbies/slots/crafts/video games/RCs are us

[Robert BG]

If they are willing to work with you I say go for it and I wouldn't be too worried about finding employees.I'm sure that with a little effort that you could find a few semi retired or even working stiffs willing to pick up a few shifts at a track for close to min wage.I used to work part time at my old local track to cover my racing bills and most importantly the DISCOUNT lol and if I was close to my track now I'd probably try and do the same again.

[brucefl]

What about a chuck cheese raceway?

[brucefl]

Sorry chucky cheese

[Phil Hackett]

Sorry chucky cheese

 

In the 90s, when slot were booming... again... there was a SoCal principal who was discussing this exact idea with Chucky Cheese Corporate management. I think it never went anywhere because CC wished for the activity to be free of employee attention, i.e., they didn't want to be repairing/dealing or otherwise involved with the cars themselves. It would have been a much different raceway environment then you know now.