The Sol Cinema Cafe is a coffee shop by day and art house cinema by night. Linked with our online counterpart, SolCinemaCafe.com, the Sol Cinema Cafe provides a 24-hour social cinema experience where visitors can watch films at our Harlem location or participate online.
The Sol Cinema Cafe is a place where you can watch great films, eat good food, and share ideas! Investing in this Harlem venue is an opportunity to get on the ground floor of what will soon be an international media enterprise. With additional funds, we will complete renovations to our first location, decorate the newly upgraded space, as well as secure operating capital.
The Sol Cinema Cafe offers the New York Metropolitan area, and the world, a new concept in cinema entertainment. This unique venue will operate as a media-rich coffee shop where patrons can experience VR, and use wireless headphones to enjoy indie/classic films that play silently on screens throughout the venue. At night we will operate as an art house (independent film) cinema. Via SolCinemaCafe.com, the Sol Cinema Cafe offers a social cinema experience that a worldwide network of subscribers can stream films online, join watch parties, communicate with each other, livestream talkbacks, and ask questions in real-time. The Sol Cinema Cafe is a 21st century social cinema experience!
The Market
In New York City's Harlem community, there is an unmet demand for cinemas that offer independent films about black and latino experiences.
Independent production companies, filmmakers and distributors seek indie film venues that will serve upper Manhattan, and are specifically in need of exhibition outlets that will prioritize their black and brown content. Also, as Harlem becomes more gentrified, there is an increased need for eating and drinking venues. The Sol Cinema Cafe (the Sol Cinema), a trendy, multi-use multimedia, fast casual cinema-eatery, will capitalize on these underserved markets.
The Sol Cinema Cafe will position itself as a global beacon for independent film and culture. Our conservative market data is drawn primarily from the 1.4 square mile community known as Central Harlem. This community of nearly 150,000 residents is primarily black and latino. 42% of this community earns $50,000 and higher, and 78% fall between the ages of 18 and 64.
Our primary market is black and latino Harlem residents ages 24 to 54, who earn $50,000 or more. The secondary market is white residents and tourists, also earning $50,000 or more between the ages of 24 and 54. We project that Sol Cinema will draw 30,000 patrons in the first year, including Central Harlem residents, NYC residents, and tourists.
Future Markets
Growth is a key aspect of our business. Future markets include adding more venues to develop the Sol Cinema Cafe brand into an international chain of franchises. These venues will be linked by our website which will offer ticket and merchandise sales, free membership via an online community for Sol Cinema Cafe patrons, and a subscription based online channel similar to Netflix. Each venue will create original media content that will be sold via our website, as well as iTunes, Youtube, Amazon and other online vehicles.
There is no total concept like the Sol Cinema Cafe: a coffee shop/cinema/VR lounge focused on black and brown content linked ultimately to an online channel. However, the Sol Cinema Cafe has varying competition from each revenue stream. First, from local coffee shops, and second, from existing cinemas and cultural venues. Locally, we are positioned in a community that needs more eating and drinking spaces to serve the new gentry. Also, the Sol Cinema Cafe will be the only coffee shop, along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., for several blocks. We will be the only cinema-eatery in Harlem, and the only VR lounge in Harlem. Competitors include the AMC 9 Magic Johnson Theater, Maysles Documentary Center (a nonprofit community theater with very little ambiance). Many assume that online media is a threat to cinemas however media analysts assert that cinemas are unaffected by online options.
Forecast
We project sales of $610,114 in year 1 and $685,839 in year 2 with a profit margin of 16%. Our primary revenue streams will be Food and Beverage (including beer and wine), 35%; Coffee Sales, 25%; Theater Rentals, 13%; and Movie Tickets 11%, which are estimated at the conservative 20% of occupancy. We expect food and beverage orders to average $7 in the morning, and $11 in the afternoon and evenings. Based on our projections, we will break even in year two and will repay our loan by the end of year four.
Additional Sources of Revenue
To date, the Sol Cinema Cafe has $120,000 in cash flow.
About the Founders
Moikgantsi Kgama, CEO of the Sol Cinema Cafe, and Gregory Gates, the Managing Partner, have a combined 50 years of experience in the independent film and entertainment business. They have informally tested various models of this business to arrive at the proposed enterprise, and along the way, have developed key relationships, demonstrated expertise in film marketing, managed an operation at the location of the proposed business, and produced film-related events throughout New York City at celebrated venues such as the Lincoln Center and the Apollo Theater.
From the Founder
"We are very excited for you to be a part of our next chapter. We started as ImageNation and have grown into the Sol Cinema Cafe. The community of Harlem is important to us and we plan to expand the offerings in this community for access to independent cinema and of course great coffee! Join us as we create a place where people of all races and ethnicities can watch amazing films, eat great food, and share ideas."
— Moikgantsi Kgama, Owner
Offerings
- Coffee, Tea, Beer, Wine, Food
- Global Black Cinema
- Virtual Reality
In the Press