Game on for Fleetwood couple as business is re-born after closure fears

Things are looking up in 2020 for the owners of a Fleetwood gaming lounge after their business came perilously close to folding.

Back in July, GYGO - which stands for Get Your Game On - opened at premises on Dock Street to a blaze on interest from fans of console games.

It was a promising start for the new enterprise, launched by Fleetwood couple Naomi Railton, 27, and 33-year-old Nick Cannon.

But after the initial buzz of trade at the lounge, business slowed,

By October the couple felt they had no choice but to post a notice on their Facebook site, stating they would have to close for good by November 17.

They said all bookings up to that point would be honoured.

It looked like a sad end to the fledgeling business, but then came an unexpected lifeline.

A landlord who owned a shop building at the more prominent location of Lord Street (inset) told them it had become vacant and would be available to them.

The couple moved into the Lord Street premises on November 9 - and the move has saved the day, with trade picking up and the couple now making plans for fresh developments in the spring.

Naomi said: "We were short on funds but we felt we had nothing to lose.

"The idea was that if it was in a more prominent position, more people would see it and come in, and that would make it more financially viable just in time to save it. It was also bigger so it gave us more chance to expand; we now have a big shop front – we’re not hidden away anymore.

"We were so upset at the thought of having to shut, especially because some of regular customers had really come out of their shells."

The new premises features a downstairs space with a pool table and retro games such as Pacman and Donkey Kong, while upstairs is the console games lounge with Xbox and Playstation

Naomi added: "It looked like our dream had died but a guardian angel came in to save us."