American entrepreneur Brandon Felcze speaks with Sínann Fetherston about his unexpected move to Ireland, the heartbreak of closing arcade restaurant, Token, and the momentum he is building for a permanent queer space in Dublin.
"I was working in the video game industry up until 2016," Brandon tells RTÉ Lifestyle. "I was on a business trip around the world for one of the studios I worked for - I had never lived outside of the country before, or even the State - and I landed in Dublin and immediately fell in love with it."
"I don't know if it's because of what I was going through at the time, that it was the first English-speaking country, or the people that I met, but something just called me to Ireland."
A few years later, with the blessing of his grandmother to leave the country following a tense Presidential election, the California native found himself back in Dublin studying for his Masters degree.
His student visa only allowed him to work a short number of hours, but he learned that he was legally able to invest in the work of others.
"I brought every penny I had with me; I cashed in my retirement account - everything I had been saving since I was 18," he explains.
Looking at the city's nightlife scene, Felcze noticed a gap in the market thanks to his years in California. Retro arcade bars were extremely popular back home, but appeared to be underutilised in Ireland.
A quick Google search pointed him in the direction of The R.A.G.E, Dublin's only retro gaming shop at the time, and before he knew it, Felcze was in talks to invest in a restaurant bar/arcade/pinball parlour.
"Token was open six months later and the rest is history - of sorts."
Landing in the trendy neighbourhood of Smithfield in 2017, Token opened to rave reviews and quickly became a go-to for those looking for a wholesome date spot, game-filled event space, or just an after-work go on the dance machine.
Despite its popularity, though, rising costs and a global pandemic led to the arcade restaurant closing its doors in May of 2024.
"Until the day it closed, Token was always booked out," he reflects. "After the pandemic and the rising electricity bills, and the cost of supplies going up... we couldn't charge €20 for a burger.
"The burgers were good," he adds, "but you can't alienate the communities that you're trying to serve."
Now an Irish citizen, Felcze is free from legal restraints concerning his business ventures and is ready to jump-start his next big idea.
Having been "out and proud" since the age of 16, the entrepreneur has always had an interest in opening a venue specifically aimed at the LGBTQ+ community.
"There are very limited spots in terms of dedicated spaces day and night," he says, explaining the idea behind Yes! Dublin. "I started an Instagram account, I shared it to my story with my vision, and it quickly started to grow legs. The demand seems to be there."
In September 2025, Felcze launched a Kickstarter campaign to encourage a community-funded space that could live as a café and hub for community events by day and a full-scale nightclub by night.
To raise funds and prove demand, he began offering Founding Memberships in exchange for Kickstarter pledges.
These limited spots would allow free entry, skip-the-queue access, early invites, and more for early investors - essentially guaranteeing that members of the LGBTQ community would be the first to walk in the door on any given night.
Despite the demand, Felcze acknowledges that his €25,000 goal is unlikely to be reached by his goal date, but a successful campaign, he says, would prove a demand and help attract investors and partners needed to make YES! a reality.
"I'm really passionate about taking ideas and turning them into reality," he explains. "This gets the conversation started, and no one gets charged - people only get charged by Kickstarter if the goal is fully funded. This allows us to get the following, work on a pop-up night, find spaces in Dublin and build more brand momentum."
Reflecting on the highs and lows of working in Dublin's social scene, he admits that jumping into another venture feels like a risk, but one he has thought out.
"It's risky, it's a challenge," he says. "This space is meant to be for the community by the community. I'm not some corporate mogul, the goal for this is to bring Dublin something."
"It will need community support to make happen," he adds. "If you really want to see this, we need you to get behind it and prove that there's demand."
To find out more information, you can visit the YES! Dublin Kickstarter page or follow them on Instagram @yesdublin.
