Catering at Queen’s University’s Reboot Café

Reboot is a new £1.4m ground-breaking gaming café at Queen’s University (QUB), Belfast. The café is on three floors and was initially aimed at students, but since January it has been opened to the public and has really taken off, generating an additional valuable revenue stream.

Brian Horgan, Head of Campus, Food, Drink and Retail at the university, says “We’ve become the first university in the UK and Ireland to provide such a space. The café, which can accommodate 100 customers, was designed with a clear mission – to enhance the student experience by offering a dynamic, inclusive space where students and the local community can socialise and enjoy gaming in a safe and alcohol-free environment.” The decision not to serve alcohol was supported by TUCO research, which showed 40% of university students never or hardly drink alcohol.

State-of-the-Art Gaming Facilities

A selection of classic and modern arcade games and a board game area can be found on the ground floor of Reboot, while the mezzanine floor features the only Formula 1 simulator in Ireland. Brian says, “This has quickly become a crowd favourite as it enables players to experience the thrill of racing in a hyper-realistic setting. It was gifted to the university by Red Bull who were quick to see the potential of the café and its customer base.”

Cutting-edge gaming consoles including Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and VR systems can also be found on this level, while the first floor is for Esports featuring 30 of the fastest and most powerful PCs available on the market. The café regularly hosts events such as the All Ireland Esports Finals.

Student-Friendly Menu and Merch

Menu items include pizzas, burgers, loaded fries, paninis, snacks and confectionery, as well as a selection of soft drinks, milkshakes and speciality coffee, all at student friendly prices. The café also sells branded merchandise and can be hired for group events such as birthday parties and corporate team-building events.

The university has 11 food outlets in total, with some operated in-house and others by third party companies. They cater for 25,000 students and around 4,000 campus staff. Apart from Reboot, outlets operated by the university include Business and Beans café at the business school, Union Bar and a Spar retail store in One Elmwood, the Student Centre and Students’ Union which opened in 2022.

Union Bar Success Story

The Union Bar took £3 million wet sales and served 18,000 pizzas last year. Brian attributes this success to listening to customers. “We involved students in the initial design through focus groups and trialled the food offering in the temporary location during building work which allowed us to adjust where necessary.”

Find out more from the Reboot Gaming Cafe website and Queens University Belfast website.