A PAIR of super siblings are creating jobs as they open a new gaming cafe and community hub in Greenock.

William and James Ford have turned a former bookmaker's on Kilblain Street into Geek Retreat - an events space where people can share a love of all things gaming.

The brothers opened the new venture on Saturday and it will welcome people from all over Inverclyde and beyond.

The exciting business venture - the first for the siblings - has created four part-time roles for local people.

In the cafe, people will get the chance to play card games like Pokemon, Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer, and there will be a range of games, miniatures, paint and magazines on sale.

William, 28, says he wants Geek Retreat to become a big part of the Inverclyde community.

He said: "Anyone can get involved and we can provide as much or as little as people need to enjoy gaming in all its forms.

"We ideally want people to buy the games, play the games in the cafe and meet people.

"We want to be a conduit for friendships forming in the community and to make sure everyone gets the chance to play."

William and James' parents grew up in Inverclyde and the brothers then grew up abroad, before coming back to Greenock in 2005.

The Geek Retreat adventure began when William finished his computer networking course at university.

He said: "I knew I didn't have the drive for graduate work and wanted to do something different.

"I heard about Geek Retreat and found out they were franchising this unit.

"After a series of interviews I was approved and James was brought on board in October 2021.

"We received funding through the Enterprise Fund to get everything up and running."

James, 27, believes the town is an ideal place to set up the cafe.

He added: "Greenock is full of a lot of good people and we know there's a massive amount of geeks in this area.

"We want to build a community space, it won't just be about the physical act of playing games."

The brothers will be offering a discount to anyone with a carers passport, and will also set aside a space for breastfeeding mums and babies.

They're planning to run parent and baby mornings, a chess club, coffee mornings, arts and crafts sessions and home education classes too.

William says he and James have been overwhelmed by the amount of support Inverclyde people have shown for the venture.

He added: "The outpouring of support from people in the community has been amazing.

"We're so appreciative of that and can't wait to meet everyone."