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Cyberscape Internet café in Beaverton draws tech-savvy Latino crowd

Recognizing the social aspects of Internet and computer gaming culture, founders Alex Monroy (pictured below) and Roger Rivero opened Beaverton's newest Internet café, Cyberscape.

Featuring super-fast machines with speedy broadband connections and all the latest PC games, the new venue attracts many Latino youths who are eager to showcase their gaming skills, log the top scores, and enjoy good, clean fun with their friends.

“It's a safe and fun place to hang out. Our goal is to offer a very relaxed atmosphere where people can just enjoy themselves,” said Alex.

Both Alex and Roger are serial entrepreneurs who have worked together in several industries before joining forces to establish Cyberscape. He and Roger have known each other for a number of years before plunging into the joint venture. “To go into business, you have to trust your partner,” said Alex. “It’s exciting to embark in a new business and break new ground.”

Capitalizing on their ties to Europe and Central and South America, Alex and Roger identified a need to offer cybercafé services to residents in Beaverton. “We recognize that many people may live in large households, where they have to share a computer with other members of the family,” said Alex. “Some may not have computers and/or high-speed access at home.”

Serving a largely Latino population in Washington County, Cyberscape provides an alternative to other public access Internet service providers. While the venue offers a whole gamut of computer services, such as e-mail, office computing and printing services, the primary focus of Cyberscape is to attract tech-savvy young people. “We have super fast machines loaded with the latest games,” said Alex. “We have 10 computers that are connected locally. Gamers can also go online and play with other gamers from halfway across the globe. We don’t allow adult content: it’s a safe place for young Latinos to hang out.”

Cyberscape is not your standard coffeeshop Internet café. The founders worked on building the interior of the facility, including the gaming stations. “It took a lot of trips to Home Depot, but it was a lot of fun,” said Alex.

What they created was a no-frills, post-industrial interior with large windows, Cyberscape offering a comfortable environment for gamers of all ages to come together.

“There’s a common misconception that people who play computer games are geeks or nerds. But the reality is that most gamers are very social as well. So, we worked hard to build a space that expresses our vision of providing a unique and relaxing atmosphere for our clients,” Alex said.

In addition to computer gaming services, Cyberscape also provides a friendly and knowledgeable staff who are willing to provide answers to almost any technical question. Popular software programs are available: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, among others. “You can burn CD’s, or use the web camera to turn on web conferencing. We also help people set up e-mail accounts,” said Alex.

Word-of-mouth marketing has worked out really well for the Cyberscape, said Alex. It also helps that the facility is right in the middle of commercial activities in the Beaverton area. Click for the Cyberscape website.

Summer 2006



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