Oche, the gastro pub and gaming concept open in several major European cities, is looking to translate its popularity overseas to the United States.
Oche, pronounced like “hockey” without the “h,” announced its plan to expand in North America via franchising. Currently, the brand has locations in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Brisbane, Australia, Gothenburg, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway.
CEO Troy Warfield, former president of 77-unit entertainment company Topgolf, said by automating the game of darts and combining it with foodservice, a younger, cross-gender audience can be brought in.
“What millennials and Gen Z are looking for is something more than just eating and drinking when they go out,” Warfield said. “They want an experience. If you can provide something more, the next thing that happens is they want to share the experience. So, within the business model, there’s an inherent health to it.”
Oche CEO Troy Warfield.
Oche, the term for the line one throws from in the game of darts, offers 90-minute play sessions along with street food and drinks ranging from cocktails to local draft beer.
The concept’s success in multiple international markets is something Warfield said he wanted to confirm before looking toward North America.
“We want franchisees to know that we’ve tested the concept across multiple countries,” Warfield said. “Once we’ve proven the concept, it’s then about where we want to stretch the concept and where the logical markets are. The U.S. is an obvious one.”
Oche won’t be entirely new to the U.S. market, though, as one did open in Miami in 2021. The unit was open briefly, though, as the landlord of the location decided to sell the building. Despite the closure, plans for new Oche locations are moving ahead and the concept has been able to attract several investors.
One of them is Norway-based Karbon Invest, which has put close to $20 million in the concept. Karbon Invest CEO and Oche Chairman Christian Breddam said he was intrigued by the concept’s utilization of technology with its dart game.
“Most of our money is in the technology and concept development, going back and forth to fine tune it in the best way possible,” Breddam said. “What we will contribute is making the best concept so our franchisees succeed. If we want to succeed, we need our franchisees to succeed. So having the best technology and making the best experience for our customers, that’s what we’re putting effort into.”
Karbon Invest CEO Christian Breddam.
“With the combination of food and beverage, they make good margins,” Warfield said of franchisees. “The gaming aspect is also cost of goods free. Any revenue franchisees make from the games goes to their bottom line. Somewhere between 20 percent and 25 percent of revenue.”
Warfield said there’s opportunity to open Oche units on the East and West coasts, as well as in the Midwest. While no U.S. franchises have been signed for Oche, Warfield said the franchise program is progressing.
“We went to some recent conferences and have had meetings that look fruitful,” Warfield said. “I think the really smart franchisees that were walking around heard a lot of the same propositions before. But they looked at us and said ‘this is interesting,’ understanding that with gaming, all of the revenue goes to their bottom line.”
Warfield said he hopes to see discussions through this year turn into contracts soon. From there, he said it’s a quick three-month build time. Net capital build out costs for an Oche ranges from $1.5 million to $2 million.