Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Press release here:
ARCADE, a restaurant, bar and vintage video arcade is opening on Pack Square at 130 College Street (the former location of the Jolie Rouge). A Grand Opening event featuring DJ Gift (Par David Neiburger) and DJ Marley Shelton is planned for December 17th & 18th, barring any unforeseen final permitting issues.
ARCADE will feature a full bar with a specialty cocktail menu. The food menu will focus primarily on well-priced creative sandwich fare and finger food for lunch, dinner and late-night snacking. The kitchen and gaming areas will stay open until 3:30am on Thursday-Saturday, giving downtown regulars a place to eat and play (and possibly sober up!)after bars have closed.
ARCADE will play host to a weekly Friday night dance party, featuring music in a “hipster nostalgia” vein. Skee-Ball Leagues, video game-themed trivia nights and other regular events are also in the works.
ARCADE will launch with a great assortment of vintage (mostly 80’s) stand-up arcade games, pinball machines, a photo booth, and original Nintendo games at the bar. Vintage regulation Skee-Ball lanes are slated to be installed at the beginning of 2011. The owners, local residents Joshua Aaron and Leonard Poe, plan to keep things interested by bringing in new games and rotating them on a regular basis.
At 6000+square feet on two levels, ARCADE is a natural fit for events, private parties and fundraisers. Events are already booking out through February. During lunch and dinner hours, ARCADE will be family-friendly with a kid’s menu, but will be for adults only from around 9pm-closing.
A website is currently in development, but until then, the facebook page (username: Arcade Asheville) is updated several times daily and is a great place to get the latest scoop on ARCADE’s progress.
This sounds like a lot of fun. I wish them the best.
So long as those dancing hipsters don't bump up against me while I'm going for a Burger Time high score.
This sounds amazing.
So the goths have been displaced by 80s hipsters? LOL! It's appropriate enough- half the time at goth nights you'll see everyone decked out in black and bouncing up and down to Culture Club and Men Without Hats anyway. 🙂 I'll miss the Joli Rouge, but here's hoping these guys can be successful in that excellent spot and give me a decent place to prop up my elbows. Besides you can't beat that courtyard in the summer.
Hope this idea works, can't wait to check it out!