Where the “Internet Cafe” term came from?
The term “Online Cafe” was invented in earlier 1991 when San Francisco resident named Wayne Gregori created his SFnet Coffee House Network. Later, the service became very popular.
Waine set up twenty computers operated with coins in his Coffee House, mainly in the Bay Area of San Francisco. He offered wide range of services, including e-mail and access to BBS (Bulletin Board Systems).
In later 1994, “Online Cafe” term has evolutioned into well-known “Internet Cafe” with the help of I. Pope, who wrote corresponding proposal for the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. This review and proposal with concept of easy access to the internet from Cafe tables inspired multiple businessmen to open their own Internet Cafes around the world.
The first Internet Cafe in Canada was opened in Toronto, Ontario in later 1994. At the same time, someone has established “CompuCafe” in Helsinki, Finland providing customer with internet access.
London-based Cyberia CyberCafe was opened in September, whose commercial success influenced the U.S. and High Tech Cafe was opened as a result in August.
Although Internet Cafe term has a long history, a different variation, Gaming Club, or LAN Gaming Center, has become popular relatively recently, in 1997. When StarCraft game was released, a network of such gaming clubs was established in South Korea under the name of “PC Bang”. These placed attracted many customers, eventually providing owners with a high revenue.