Switch Goldeneye to Mario Kart and I’m there. I’ll bring the Offspring CD.
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@GucciLittlePig and @Kevin it sounds like we would all get along very well. #Xennials
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where in hell is the Museum? This sound for like a picture studio. Guess just another example of cheeping of world by self important. I Floor Engineer for the person that cleans the floor. 
The property that we developed in Wendell (we sold it already) is putting in a selfie room as an amenity!
I was born in 93 and selfie museums are just as stupid to me as they are to everyone else here lmao (mostly for the same reasons). I know I’m biased when it comes to this topic because I literally just said this a few months ago on here, but I don’t understand how a bowling alley/movie theater isn’t the defacto option for this space. Prime location, and they’re much more popular among all ages…Not to mention there’s no other options for that type of stuff downtown. Can’t say the same for a stupid selfie museum.
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If it brings in foot traffic and $$$, who cares if it’s not for most of our age brackets? It’d be like a chicken wing joint opening next door to me - I don’t like them, but I’d be happy it makes the neighborhood livelier. Rising tide lifting all boats etc etc.
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I agree with both of the above comments. Not sure I personally understand the selfie museum concept but if it works….
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Strictly from a $$$ standpoint (which is what should be the priority of any developer/investor) a movie theater/bowling alley would likely generate way more money than a selfie museum in this spot. That’s what I mean by appealing to all ages.
Bigger pool of potential customers = more revenue
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But also bigger overhead and startup costs.
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Well this is Fayetteville St…any business opening up in this location should be prepared for those types of costs. Also, Empire isn’t hurting for cash…they should’ve began actively pursuing a movie theater/bowling alley tenant or something along those lines (and waited for the right opportunity if needed) the moment they bought the space. They shouldn’t be trying just anything (definitely not a damn selfie museum) at this particular location.
I agree with almost everything you post, and you usually say it more succinctly and better than I ever could.
But now, on this important issue, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree. 
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I don’t know anything about selfie museums (sounds like a station at a wedding reception to be honest), but would this be the retail equivalent of a gravel lot while the owner waits for the market to mature?
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I’d sure hope so. Selfie museums don’t seem like guaranteed long-term attractions by any means.
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Not only that, but how many repeat visitors will they have at a selfie museum? Seems like a 1 and done attraction, where as a bowling alley or movie theater, you literally have the same people visit those per week! My grandmother would go bowling with a group every Thursday and it’s always packed.
I honestly at times pity this level of affirmation towards cellphones and those who revolve their life around them. It’s sad to drive by a group of kids being let out of middle or high school and see them all looking at their phones.
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There sure is a lot of griping about a new business coming to DTR offering something different.
It isn’t my thing, but I’m glad it is coming. If it is successful that means there was an unmet desire that it is serving. If it isn’t succesful then it will go away.
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It doesn’t matter if XYZ will “generate way more money” than ABC, if XYZ costs absurdly more money than ABC to create.
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Movies (especially) and bowling are both probably a lot larger than you think. Punch Bowl Social usually signs leases of 25,000 sq ft, which is almost as large as this entire building (31,206 per the assessor, probably including the 3rd floor penthouse). The new cinemas at Fenton are around 35,000 sq ft. The CineBowl combination at Parkside is… 60,000 sq ft.
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Both uses require incredibly expensive interior construction, especially in a renovation. These are uses that typically require high ceilings and, when in multi-story spaces, lots of circulation space: escalators, multiple wide exit stairs, etc. Cinemas in particular rarely go into existing buildings (and, in turn, are difficult buildings to reuse) because their spaces are just too weird: sloped floors, super-wide column spacing, angled walls, soundproofing, etc.
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Most selfie museums I’ve seen have been pop-ups on short leases; longer-term leases only work in super-touristy settings. They do switch up the backgrounds frequently for return visitation, since it’s all just wallpaper (i.e., incredibly cheap interior construction). Ergo, there’s no reason to be disappointed that your dream now will never ever ever happen here, because it could be possible… in a year or two. The new owners just paid a lot of money for it, and might want some short-term income while they figure out what else they can do.
You will definitely see something like this downtown soon, but probably in the middle of a wide block… like at Seaboard Station:
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I’m in my mid-30s, and I’m still working on my acceptance of the fact that I have aged out of the demographic that influencers/developers/etc. target. If selfie museums are a big deal for 20-somethings, and 20-somethings are who these people are catering towards, well I’d rather have it downtown as opposed to the Immersive Van Gough (something more tilted towards my demographic) out in some semi-abandoned big box complex on OTB Glenwood.
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Maybe the selfie and tik tok generation needs a voting museum?
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Guys read Empire’s release- they said the selfie museum is coming and they’re actively leasing out the rest of the space - there will be more.
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I’m also thinking of things within easy walking distance to the convention center where there are often events where there’s a young crowd, and a selfie museum would probably be one of THE places those crowds will visit.
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