District Social, the new arcade, axe throwing and billiards venue next to the Industrial Arts Brewing Company, is opening today, June 4, in Beacon, N.Y. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, the business was originally supposed to open last year, but those plans were derailed by Covid-19. District Social has no formal relation to their next-door neighbor, but Industrial Arts beer is on tap. As for attractions, there’s an arcade, four axe throwing lanes, billiards and darts. They’ll also have live music. “While appealing to families with kids during the day, we also hope to attract the 21-plus crowd at night…
Author: Matt Harding
Bowlero recently entered into a merger agreement with Bowl America; under the agreement, Bowlero will acquire Bowl America and its 17 bowling centers in Florida, Virginia and Maryland. “Bowlero Corp. is committed to delivering a world class bowling experience to the 28 million-plus guests we serve each year and we’re thrilled to welcome Bowl America’s 17 centers to our portfolio,” said Tom Shannon, Chairman and CEO of Bowlero Corp. “This acquisition supports our ongoing strategic efforts to grow and revitalize all aspects of the bowling industry.” The acquisition is subject to stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Learn more at…
Shaffer Distributing will be one of the companies exhibiting at four upcoming industry trade shows and other events, including FEC Success Institute, National Pizza Ranch Conference, Bowl Expo and Amusement Expo. FEC Success Institute, hosted by Amusement Products, will be held June 8-9 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Click here to register. The National Pizza Ranch Conference will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D., from June 14-16. And of course… the Bowl Expo trade show is June 23-24 in Louisville, Ky., while Amusement Expo is June 30-July 1 in Las Vegas. At Bowl Expo, visit Shaffer at Booth #731 and at Amusement…
Toy Box Mini Golf opened May 28 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The mini-golf business is themed around Legos, Slinkys and more classic toys, according to WVLT. The venue is a full 18-hole course that features giant replicas of the classic toys. “It’s everything you can imagine from your childhood,” said owner Chucky Blalock. “From army men to Slinkys to RC cars and all kids of different, larger-than-life stuff.” Learn more about the business at www.toyboxgolf.com.
In business for 50 years, the Los Angeles-based Family Amusement Corporation has had a difficult couple of years after a devastating fire at their arcade in 2019 followed by the pandemic in 2020. As of May 3, the Family Arcade is finally reopened – albeit with reduced capacity. According to Spectrum News 1, the arcade business has also switched from tokens to a $25 fee to play all day. Robert Peck, who runs the family business with his cousin Stephen (his father and uncle started it), said he was unsure they would survive the pandemic after rebuilding due to the…
And the 2021 Best of Elk Grove Village Award in the Manufacturers category goes to… Stern Pinball! The pinball maker was recently given the award by the Illinois town where they’re based. Each year, the award program “identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category.” Stern Pinball is that company this year – using the silverball to enhance the positive image of their community. According to Stern, the award program focuses on quality over quantity, and notes that winners are determined based on the information gathered internally by the Elk Grove…
Merchandise distributor PIA Products recently announced the addition of Keitha McBride to their senior management team. With more than 25 years of experience, McBride has previously held key positions with Dave & Buster’s, Redemption Plus and BMI. With PIA Products, she will lead the continued expansion of the company’s Entertainment and Amusement division, focusing on developing new product relationships in the FEC, crane and merchandiser and theme park markets. “For years, there had been a void in the prize supply side of the industry for higher end products,” McBride said. “As a former buyer, I was always surprised at the…
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held May 27 by the Paducah Chamber of Commerce in Kentucky to welcome Atomic City Paducah’s Family Fun Center. According to KFVS, the facility was partially opened in December. Since then, they’ve added multiple attractions, the Atomic Café and party rooms for birthdays and special events. The co-owners said they delayed the ribbon-cutting and a grand opening of the full facility due to the pandemic. Learn more about the business at www.atomicpaducah.com.
Over the past year, Embed has installed its cashless business management systems at nine Veltmeijer Group locations across Europe and Zone Out Arcade in Nelson Bay, Australia. Embed recently signed a 3-year exclusive agreement with Veltmeijer Group, based in the Netherlands, to open amusement centers across Europe. They have 18 stores across the continent, including Gamestate, Gametown, Gamecity and Family Entertainment Centers. Their most recent location opened March 18 at the Mall of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Zone Out Arcade opened its doors to the public in December with the Embed system and co-owner Emily Pattison had nothing but great things…
We’re taking the day off Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day. We’ll be back on Wednesday, June 2, when we’ll return to our pre-Covid schedule of three newsletters a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). This will free up more time for our editorial staff to start traveling again to industry functions and time to do more in-depth stories on the things we all care about in coin-op. May we suggest that now would be an excellent time to renew your print subscription, so you don’t miss out on all the exciting post-Covid stories we’ll be publishing? It’s still only $65…