The newest coffee shop in Boulder is creating a buzz, but it's not only from the caffeine-laced products they serve.

Café Play, at 1155 13th St., the former site of Kinsley Outfitters, is trying to create a new market aimed toward the college crowd: get your shot of coffee or tea and feed your video game addiction at the same time.

The store opened Dec. 7, according to Bill Shrum, co-owner of Café Play. During the first few days, they had around 30 customers, but in recent days, they have seen upwards of 300 customers a day come into their store.

Making The Hill's newest addition attractive to the casual gamer is one of Shrum's highest priorities.

"We're wanting to keep it more of a coffee shop style setting by making it accessible to those who don't necessarily play video games all the time," Shrum said. "The point is to create an atmosphere where people want to come back."

Shrum and one of his partners, Matt Dabbs, met while working at an EB games in Cherry Creek. They both ran their own stores in Colorado shortly thereafter. They cultivated their love of video games while working for EB.

Dabbs beams while he talks about the moment they decided that they should go into business for themselves. He refers to it as the "Shenanigans Meeting." It was a meeting of EB store managers from all over the region.

"Someone asked the regional manager about the customers," Dabbs said. "His actual response was, 'Well, where else are they gonna go?' That's not good leadership."

Dabbs and Shrum said after that meeting, they went to a coffee shop in Denver and decided to open their own coffee shop. While they were at it, Shrum suggested, why not make it a video game coffee shop?

Shrum said that he used the video game The Sims 2 to model what a video game coffee shop would look like.

"Oddly enough, it looks a lot like what we have now," Shrum said.

Right now, the coffee shop boasts two levels. The lower level has a distinct coffee shop feeling, with tables, coolers for juice and even a $14,000 espresso machine. The upper level is reserved for couches, desks and a poker area.

But the objects that Shrum and Dabbs hope will get people coming back are the two high-definition big screen televisions. There are two of them, one on the first floor and one on the second floor. Attached to both televisions are an Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

"They have the newest games," said Jascha Owens of Los Altos, Calif. "It's nice to be able to come and play them here."

All of the systems are free to play through the end of the year. After that, the price will go up to $4 for one hour. Shrum is quick to mention that those prices will be per television, not per person.

Shrum, who is 28, grew up in Arvada and went to the University of Northern Colorado where he majored in international trade law. But it was while he was living in Arvada that he gained a love of Boulder.

He speaks fondly of when his parents would take him to CU football games, during the "McCartney Era", as he puts it.

"For me, I had some sentimental value in coming to The Hill," Shrum said. "It's the idyllic college atmosphere."

To the partners, having a coffee shop/video game store isn't just about getting players their caffeine high.

"At the beginning of the day, we're a coffee shop and later during the evening, we're an entertainment venue," Shrum said. "We get the peak of both businesses."

Dabbs believes that their store can compete with any established coffee business in Boulder.

"We can actually make anything Starbucks can make," Dabbs said.

Shrum said that because all the systems were really developed with multiplayer and community gaming in mind, that's what they are trying to create at Café Play. It's not all about their own business, though.

"We want to draw people to The Hill," Shrum said. "If you have quality businesses all around, at the very least we have a shot of selling them a game."