We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We’ve always wanted to be the masters of our own sail so to speak. However, we struggled a bit with finding a business idea that was new and exciting. Then like a light bulb, we realized that although we were close to Atlanta, we indeed lived in an entertainment desert and people are always looking for things to do outside of home. Moreover, you can always find something for little kids and adults, but rarely an entertainment venue uniquely designed to capture the attention of youth, teens and young adults. And so, Controller Game Lounge was born!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Controller Game Lounge is unlike anything you’ve seen in the market. In fact, game lounges are a new and upcoming concept in an emerging breakout from the traditional gaming industry. Controller Game Lounge offers a full service premiere gaming venue for private and public events as well as daily walk-in game play. Our 3000 sq. ft. facility has the fastest internet speeds and a solid network where gamers never have to worry about lag. We currently have 24 TV gaming stations with additional hand held devices and virtual reality units. More than just video games, we have an extremely large collection of board, card and table top games. We host tournaments, banquets, birthday parties, graduations and almost any type of event you can imagine. We go above and beyond to personalize the experience and maintain a family friendly atmosphere.

What we are most proud of is the scale Controller Game Lounge, it’s offerings and capabilities. When we started out, there just wasn’t many other businesses doing what we do that we could learn from. We had to conceptualize practically every element of the business and bring it life.

We are still feeling our way through the growth phase, but all the while thankful for the opportunity to be at the cusp of this emerging industry. It’s not easy at all when you have questions and no one that you can just go to and say, hey, what are your best practices? But, we look forward because very frequently, we have others reaching out to us to ask – how did you do it, what does it take? This shows that we are doing somethings right and that others a trying to enter the industry – that’s growth!

The biggest lesson we’ve learned so far is just throw some stuff against the wall until something sticks! There is no one perfect way to get anything done. Do your best, but don’t give up. Pivot when necessary and hold still at times. Keep constant what works and be flexible enough to change what doesn’t.

Controller Game Lounge is more than just a place to chill and play games. Our hope is to build connections with community and neighbors. We’d like to see the kids visiting regularly and making new friends each time. As humans, we were not meant to be alone. Controller Game Lounge is an effort to reconnect!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, you’ve absolutely got to stop at Controller Game Lounge! Come in on a Friday evening to enjoy BOYB drinks, karaoke and more!

Honestly, we are mostly home bodies so if we were to have visitors, it would be a house party or backyard BBQ.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband, and business partner, and I are extremely solid in our faith and commitment to each other. Our faith has been our guiding light. We have been so extremely blessed to open a leisure type business during the height of COVID and are very proudly still hanging in there. Also, we have met so many new and awesome folks that have lifted our spirits with kind words, advice and advocacy. It’s so strange how sometimes the newest faces in your life can be the most supportive. Literally, there are so may of these folks that we can’t name them all!

Website: www.ControllerGameLounge.com

Instagram: instagram.com/controllergamelounge

Facebook: facebook.com/controllergamelounge

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.