Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida recently declared the state’s Covid-19 emergency over, signing an executive order that invalidates all remaining local orders. He also signed a bill into law that bans businesses from asking anyone to provide proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, according to the Miami Herald. “I think it’s the evidence-based thing to do,” he said. “I think folks that are saying that they need to be policing people at this point, if you’re saying that you really are saying you don’t believe in the vaccines, you don’t believe in the data you don’t believe in the science….We are…
Author: Matt Harding
High Score Pinball Arcade opened a couple of weeks ago at the Westfield South Shore mall in Bay Shore, N.Y. According to Greater Bay Shore, the arcade has 42 pinball machines and five arcade cabinets – some of which date back to the 1960s. Owner Melissa Cerquin (above) has a mix of old and new machines. Cerquin’s boyfried Mike Burd is another pinball enthusiast. He operates the Video Game Trading Post in Levittown and Massapequa, which buys, sells and trades games. The games at High Score Pinball Arcade were from Burd’s personal collection, which had been kept in an empty…
Open to the public on May 13, Andretti Indoor Karting and Games will officially have its grand opening celebration on May 15 at The Exchange at Gwinnett near the Mall of Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitutional. The first 100 customers at the grand opening will receive free goodie bags, T-shirts and other items. The new 80,000-sq.-ft. venue has 360 employees and is expected to bring in 1 million customers each year. Like their other locations, Andretti offers high-speed electric karting, an arcade with virtual reality, duckpin bowling, laser tag and more. Learn more at www.andrettikarting.com.
Highland Park Bowl, the oldest operating bowling alley in Los Angeles, is reopening, according to KABC. “It feels amazing and it’s great to see the city starting to slowly kind of revive,” said co-owner Dimitri Komarov. The business has been closed for 15 months and is allowed to open at 25% capacity, though the county recently announced it will likely be in the lowest Covid tier for reopening, which would allow them to open at 50%. Luckily, despite being closed for so long, Komarov reported that their landlord gave them a break on rent and they were able to make…
The Apex Entertainment facility at the Crossgates Mall in Albany, N.Y., is able to reopen once again – welcoming back guests this Wednesday, May 5. According to PRNewswire, the 55,000-sq.-ft. venue first opened in December 2019, closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic, reopened in September but closed again due to increased restrictions in December. Now, they’re back at it. Apex Entertainment has other locations in Marlborough, Mass., Syracuse, N.Y., and Virginia Beach, Va. Its Syracuse location is also slated to reopen soon. The Albany location features 22 lanes of bowling, more than 60 arcade games, laser tag, bumper…
The Grid: Games and Growlers is back as of April 30 after more than a year of staying closed. The arcade and games bar, located in Mesa, Ariz., has a lineup of more than 600 video games between classic arcades, pinball machines, computer games, console games and board games. According to the Arizona Republic, the business also has a selection of bottles, cans and craft beer on tap to go with the games – plus a menu of snack foods. Aside from the mask and social distancing requirements, another change will be a $10 cover charge on Friday and Saturday…
A 50-year-old bowling alley in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been gutted and work recently began to renovate the entire facility. According to WANE, MVP Lanes is expected to open this summer in the building that was previously known as Wayne Recreation and Kingpins. The project has been undertaken by Mark Johnston and Austin Brunner, who both have bowling experience in the city. (Johnston recently renovated Little Turtle Hillcrest into Thunderbowl.) The new MVP Lanes will feature bowling and a bar area, and the business will partner with PBA bowler Wes Malott, who will operate their pro shop and a training…
Seats are filling up fast for the first in-person Lasertron conference in more than a year. Click here to reserve your seats for the free event, held May 18-19 at the newest Lasertron center in Rochester, N.Y. Topics of the 2-day conference include team building, developing the right knowledge and experience, providing the right tools to succeed and other leadership and management-focused discussions. From an operational side of things, the conference will detail site selection for new operators, entertainment center layout, marketing and sales, guest service and more. Click here to see the event’s full itinerary or visit www.lasertron.us. Contact…
Party Center Software has some free admission slots open to the upcoming Business Development virtual clinic, hosted by TrainerTainment on May 6. Click here to enter a raffle for admission, which will otherwise be $79. The business clinic will discuss investing in “the people who make your business run.” Attendees can expect to come away with a solid system to recruit and hire the right people, ways to review and provide consistent feedback to encourage performance or inspire low-performing team members and a performance management program to help guide you. Click here to purchase a ticket outright or visit www.trainertainment.net.
Skidmore’s Holiday Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M., is finally reopened as of today, April 30. Despite the business being closed for bowling since the pandemic began, according to KOB 4, they’ve been serving food throughout. Owner Gary Skidmore said he’s ready to get a roll on things and is working to fill 20 positions. New hires will be given a $400 bonus after 90 days of employment – an incentive the alley hopes can get people to stay. To start, every other lane will be in use – per the state’s guidelines. It’s “better than nothing” since Skidmore had been losing…