A 36-lane bowling center in Welland, Ontario – Jeff’s Bowl-O-Rama – is finally able to welcome guests for the first time since late December under the province’s reopening plan. According to the Welland Tribune, bowling alleys are now allowed to operate at 50% capacity, which allows for a maximum of 200 people at the business. They were opened from August to December 2020 but were only allowed 50 people at a time – divided into small groups of bowlers from the same households. “The capacity thing is no longer an issue with our leagues,” said manager Henry Nieuwold. Typically, they…
Author: Matt Harding
The Burlington, Vermont-based Archives Arcade Bar has put down roots in Winooski as well. Their second location opened up there in early July after more than a year of anticipation. It was expected to open the same week the state shut down in 2020. According to WPTZ, the landlord gave bar owner Matthew Walters 10 months of free rent. “Everything was ready to go, and it never happened,” he said. “It was a bit disappointing, but we did get opened this year, thank goodness. They gave us 10 months of free rent, which was phenomenal. A lot of people haven’t…
RePlay recently reported that Bowlero was going public. Now, it’s been further reported that the company is expected to go public later this quarter at a $2.6 billion valuation via a SPAC deal led by former World Wrestling Entertainment co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. Axios says Bowlero has 321 bowling centers in North America – eight times more than its closest rival. The business also owns its own real estate and the Professional Bowlers Assn. The SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) deal will “enable more bowling center acquisitions.” Axios also noted that there’s a growing momentum around casual athletics…
Bacta, which represents U.K. arcade operators, recently applauded the government for lifting Covid restrictions. “We welcome Boris Johnson’s announcement this evening, which states that social distancing will come to an end on July 19,” they wrote. “The necessity to social distance has cut the capacity in our arcades and prevented people from enjoying our products in pubs, therefore this news will be a great relief to Bacta members.” The group also noted that similar announcements were made for Wales specifically, though they were disappointed the restrictions weren’t set to lift until Aug. 7.
Redemption Plus recently announced two additions to their customer success team. Kristyn Bruce has returned to the company as a customer support specialist and Greg Robison as senior account executive for Texas. “We are looking for ‘Swiss Army Knife’ employees,” said chief operations growth officer Mike Tipton. “We all juggle multiple tasks at Redemption Plus and Kristyn exemplifies exactly what our team is built on: collaboration, creativity and process. I’m so excited that she came back to our team and excited to see her interacting with customers again.” Robison joins the team with more than 10 years of experience in…
Fire Betty’s Arcade Bar is planning a return to Tallahassee this fall with a scheduled reopening date of Oct. 1. The business struggled through Covid last year, so the bar’s original owner came back to the rescue. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Derek Hart opened Fire Betty’s in 2014 and later sold it. Now, he’s at the helm once again. “We went back in and renegotiated,” he said. “It’s kind of like a comeback story.” Fire Betty’s Arcade Bar will move into the former home of Fifth & Thomas, an event venue that closed in May 2020. With more than…
Kaboom Family Fun Center officially opened in Great Falls, Montana, on July 17. The FEC features a 3,000-sq.-ft. laser tag arena, an open-air inflatable park obstacle course, a 16-ft. giant slide, more than 25 arcade games and a 2,500-sq.-ft. “Ninja Park” with more than 18 obstacles. According to KRTV, there is also a tropical-themed birthday party area. The grand opening ceremony featured an appearance by Lance Pekus, who’s known as Cowboy Ninja and has appeared on the TV show American Ninja Warrior. Learn more about the fun center at www.kaboomgf.com.
AAMA members, mark your calendars for Sept. 21-22, the dates of this year’s Annual Meeting. The member-only event will be held in Lombard, Ill., and sponsorship registration is now open. The association says this year’s event will “provide plenty of opportunities to network, learn, share, build relationships and have some fun!” Attendee registration will be available soon, but in the meantime, there are a wide range of sponsorships available. For more information, call 847-290-9088 or email [email protected].
Tim Zahn and Jerry Smith, with their combined 67 years at Lieberman Companies/American Amusement Arcades (AAA), recently assumed new titles with the company. Recognized for their accomplishments, contributions to the company and new duties, Zahn is now vice president of operations of Lieberman Companies and COO of the AAA division and Smith is now director of operations for Lieberman Companies. Zahn has been with AAA for 31 years, first starting as a high school junior working for Circus Pizza, which was bought by the company in 1996. He was promoted to AAA’s general manager in 2006 and currently oversees the…
After a failed attempt to move from Banning to Palm Springs, the California-based Museum of Pinball is officially closing. While Palm Springs gave the business approval to move 1,900 pinball machines and arcade games to a new site, they were unable to renovate the massive space and couldn’t find any sponsors willing to help with the costs. According to Ars Technica, lead tech for the museum, Chuck Casey, said the games will be auctioned off in the upcoming months with bidding available online and in person. The museum is set to be replaced by a cannabis-growing operation.