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With a business in Almont and one in Marlette that opened in July 2006, owner Toby Lawlor said he and his brother Brian plan to make the big city concept popular in smaller areas.

"There's really not a lot of people who are really doing what we're doing," said Toby. "We're combining the gaming, the high speed Internet, and the coffee bar into one."

"The main goal was a family-friendly environment," he added.

At the cafe are custom gaming machines personally crafted by Brian, who graduated from Walsh College in Troy with a degree in computers.

"He's the one that came up with this concept," Lawlor said of the cyber cafe. Brian runs the Almont location of CC's as well as Creative Computer Solutions, found inside that cafe. The computer solutions business is currently being phased out, however, as the brothers focus on the cyber cafe.

About 50 computer stations are available at the cafe, complete with special gaming chairs. Computers have separate child, teen, and adult account levels; children under 17 need parental consent to play mature-rated games; and each individual computer is monitored from the cafe's server.

"We follow the rating system of the gaming companies strictly," said Toby. "Parents really like that."

The cafe has drawn teens in with Nintendo, X Box, Play Station, and Play Station 3 systems.

"We are probably the only one that has Play Station 3 right now," Toby said.

A popular game during the after school hours is "Guitar Hero," said Toby. "I got so tired of hearing the same songs over and over," he laughed.

Customers can use the cafe's server to play each other in multi-player games, or play the other location in competitions with prizes.

"I like it because they have the new Play Station 2 and X Box 360. I don't have either one of those," said regular gamer Cody Hughes, 16, of Brown City.

No children or adults are allowed "free-for-alls" on the machines. Those using the cafe's systems for inappropriate Web sites are given one warning, then asked to leave. No "cop killing" or "Grand Theft Auto"-type games are allowed, either.

Classes offered at the cafe are taught by a certified Microsoft instructor and include eBay use, Microsoft Word and Excel, Quickbooks, and others.

A full-service coffee bar can be found inside CC's as well, making it one of the only coffee bars with Internet access in the area. Espresso, cappuccino, lattes, slushes, various coffee beverages and many flavors are available at the cafe. There are also sandwiches, soup, ice cream, candy, and popcorn for purchase.

Stacy Wiegert of Marlette, a regular patron at the cafe, said she likes the friendly atmosphere.

"It's a good place to come and kill time while my oldest children are in school," Wiegert said.

Toby said cyber cafes are a form of entertainment that feel like home.

"It's a different place to have fun, hang out. It's a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere."

Customers also come to the cafe because Internet access or gaming equipment is not available at home.

"At home I don't have a computer," said regular customer Jeremy Johnson, 18, of Marlette. "I don't think there's a day I'm not here."

Rates for computer use at the cafes are $4 an hour, $10 for 3 hours, or $20 for six hours. Play Station and X Box can be used for $3 and hour or $3.50 an hour for online games. User accounts are set up, so no prepaid time is ever lost, and games can be saved from one day to the next.

A new Web site, www.ccscybercafe.com, has been recently launched. It includes a calendar of upcoming events at the cafes. Previous events have included movie showings, church fundraisers, plays, and concerts. New franchises will be opening soon in Caro and Oxford, as well.

"We're excited, we're looking forward to it," said Steve Zabik of Marlette, who will be opening the Caro location.

The original Almont location of CC's also contains an office supply store. It is a much smaller cafe, and can be found at 102 S. Main St., Almont, and reached at (810) 798-8470. CC's Cyber Cafe, 3021 Main St., of Marlette can be reached at (989) 635-1002.