BUSINESS BUZZ
Bits and bites by Michael J. DeCicco
THE NEWEST GAMES IN TOWN ARE READY TO SATISFY
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BOTH YOUR SENSE OF PLAY AND YOUR TASTE BUDS.
lay Arcade, the new arcade bar in downtown New Bedford, opened on August 16 after successfully overcoming the hurdle of trying to start up its unique venue in an era of COVIDmandated business shutdowns. The newest 8-bit star in New Bedford’s sky comes courtesy of co-owners and husband and wife team Adam and Lauren Katz. Adam said that he and Lauren began renovating the former Slainte Irish Pub at 34 Union Street around Saint Patrick’s Day. Then came the orders to keep their doors shut in face of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We powered through the crisis until opening in August,” Katz said. “We had a private event, a soft opening, but the state came in and shut down our games, and we could only serve food, mainly takeout, until Phase IV openings allowed us back in full business on September 16.”
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Play Arcade visitors will likely say it was worth the wait. They’ll find a choice of 22 classic 1980s-era cabinet-style video games in the bar and dining area and another 26 games, including air hockey, in a second room. Plus, it offers a choice of 24 craft beers, many of them brewed locally, and a roof deck with food and beer service and a beach bum getaway design. Food-wise, Katz said, visitors will find handcrafted pub-style entrees, from snacks and burgers to buffalo macaroni and cheese and grilled pizzas. The snacks include Garlic knots and tetrominoshaped tater tots, appropriately called “Tetris Tots.” “And almost everything has a vegan option,” Katz said. He added that throwback PlayStation and Nintendo consoles are available at most of the dining tables (if your tastes are slightly more modern, there is also an Xbox 360). The restaurant/arcade
January 2021 | The South Coast Insider
is looking to play retro cartoons and TV commercials on its television screens, and it plans in the future to hold throwback movie nights of cult classics like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. He and his wife started the unique venue, Katz said, because they knew the downtown area had a need for something fun to do. Two years ago the planning began. The realization of their dream began this year. “We grew up in arcades as kids,” he said. “We were looking to bring the same feeling from those days back again.” Katz said the hard part of realizing their dream operation was not in trying to find the classic machines. It was the process of opening, particularly the licensing process. The machines are being used in a “co-op” with the Bit-Bar Arcade in Salem, meaning the latter is supplying and managing the games. But Play Arcade, he
