Since I haven’t been able to visit Free Play Arcade recently, my fix for local gaming spots has left me hungry for more. Sadly, my town is growing but there’s been no place for families and friends to hang out and game. That is, until December of 2018. Joel Robe started Desh Gaming Lounge in Arlington Texas in 2017, but due to complications with long-term location decided to move to my little town of Burleson. You couldn’t understand how happy this made me!
A little backstory of Desh Gaming Lounge. Joel started his business as a little brick and mortar in June 2017. It became self-sustainable in September, and life couldn’t get any better for the self-made businessman. Traveling eSports teams would stop in to practice, and his regulars made the location home for many people. That is until his building was bought by two separate owners. The first owner was respectable with Joel, the second decided they wanted to build cubicles in its place. So once their lease ran out, they had to leave.
Not wanting to stay put, Joel moved Desh Gaming Lounge to Burleson. His hardships weren’t over just yet. He had to wait to open for months, paying rent in the meanwhile. I commend his patience and commitment to his business, and it certainly paid off. When I made my visit a week ago, I found myself being extremely impressed by his demeanor and style of handling visitors. While many owners would leave all the hard work to his employees, Joel decides to introduce and explain every piece of equipment to anyone who likes to know.
Joel told me his biggest dream was to expand Desh Gaming Lounge as a local hotspot. He’d like to grow the store with what people really want, regular groups, being his favorite. Word of mouth being extremely important, he relies on walk-bys and Facebook to get the word out about Desh. The location is in downtown of the Old District, with many restaurants surrounding the location. He noted that it’s a perfect place to leave your kids while you get a bite to eat.
Joel had this to say about Desh Gaming Lounge and to the people of Burleson.
“Hello, if you’re looking for a fun place for the kids and yourself, Desh is the place to be. You can eat while the kids play, we pride ourselves on being Family Friendly. Come join, it’s a lot of fun!”
In Desh Gaming Lounge, you will find plenty of gaming PC’s with many games loaded on the system, a TV set up with a classic Xbox (sporting Halo), a Nintendo Switch (namely for Smash Ultimate), and two VR systems. So if you ever wanted to try out a VR but couldn’t afford a Vive, their setup is out of this world!
Now Desh Gaming Lounge couldn’t stay in business without any sort of income. That’s where their pay to play model comes into effect. You can either pay $5 an hour or spend $39 for the entire day. You can also obtain a month free to play pass by winning a tournament being held by Joel. So for the cheap price of $5, you can enjoy such a great location. Don’t waste any time, if you’re near the Burleson area come check out Desh! You won’t regret it. Remember to follow Desh and Joel at their Facebook page, and come down to show them some love or follow their Twitch channel!