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Tuesday, May. 18, 1999

Entrepreneurs hope to revive Internet cafes

Competing owners say concept isn't dead, despite growing in-home access

Jeffrey Tomich
Staff Writer

   Competing Corpus Christi entrepreneurs hope Internet cafes, a concept in vogue during the mid-1990s, is equally viable now.
   Keith Hanson, a computer hobbyist and owner of Modern Heating & Air Conditioning, opened Bioya in mid-February at 7314 S. Padre Island Drive.
   Bioya, a funny name Hanson hopes will pique the interest of passers-by, has a full coffee bar and offers Internet access for $2.50 per half-hour on one of seven PCs.
   Several of Hanson's self-built machines also have word processing software and he plans to add a copier and fax machine.
   Across town, Alex Niakan, co-founder and owner of computer sales and service firm Compu-Mart, is preparing to open the rival Internet Cafe at 1101 Santa Fe St.
   Niakan is planning to open by month's end and will sell deli sandwiches, salads and desserts as well as coffee drinks and $5-per-hour Internet access.
   The concept behind the new Internet cafes isn't new to Corpus Christi.
   In 1995, Nicholas Longo began offering Internet access to customers at The Raven and The Sparrow Gourmet Cafe at the corner of 5th and Elizabeth streets.
   However, he offered free Internet access to generate coffee sales and traffic for his Web page design business.
   Longo abandoned the cafe in late 1996 to devote time to his more profitable software firm, Coffee Cup Software, but said the cafe was a popular hangout for college students and travelers wanting to check their e-mail.
   Hanson and Niakan, though competitors, agree that the concept isn't dead, even in an era when home Internet access is less than $20 a month and PCs go for $500.
   Patrons at Bioya so far have included computer owners looking for faster Internet access and those who don't own a computer and need one to e-mail friends or log on to a chat room, Hanson said.
   "I get snowbirds who come in to e-mail their family back in Canada. I get Navy wives coming in to e-mail their husbands on ships. I get college students who come in and study," he said.
   

Notes:

The former Martin Sports Complex in Calallen has been converted into a new multipurpose athletic club.
   Renamed Bay Area Athletic Club, the fitness center is owned by Rome Gregorio, former assistant general manager of Corpus Christi Athletic Club.
   The club features a two-level fitness center with cardiovascular and circuit equipment, free weights and group exercise classes. Facilities also include indoor basketball and racquetball courts and batting cages.

Portland's Kmart store, 1400 Wildcat Drive, is one of eight Texas Kmart stores being upgraded to a Big Kmart format. Work is due to be complete by the end of June.
   On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Staff Writer business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Staff Writer, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Jeffrey Tomich at tomichj@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.