Your last chances to play Ms. Pac-Man in this retro business’s original spot has arrived
.JPG "The Arcade has operated at 139 N. Mead since 2017, but this is its last weekend there before it moves.")
If you’re the nostalgic type — and more than likely you are if you patronize a business filled with arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s — this is an important weekend.
It’s the last weekend that The Arcade will be open in its original space at 139 N. Mead.
The business, which has operated in downtown Wichita since 2017, will be open until midnight today, from 1 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, and from 1 to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
After that, owners Derek Sorrells and Michael Jensen will shut the place down and start moving video games and pinball machines to the new location nearby at 906 E. Third St. That space — an old warehouse that owners have completely rebuilt — will have four times the indoor space as the original plus two private party rooms.
Once the business moves, Sorrells said, it will serve food and alcohol, something that the current space doesn’t offer.
Moving and final touches should take about two weeks, Sorrells said. The owners have targeted an opening date of May 13.
“Cue Kenny Loggins, because ‘This is It,’” Sorrells said with a laugh.
When the owners first announced their plans to move late last summer, they said they were confident they could have it complete before Thanksgiving. But several factors slowed them down, Sorrells said — chief among them was trouble finding people to actually do the construction work.
“There weren’t enough people and there was actually quite a bit of work,” he said.
The new place looks great, Sorrells said, and it should look even better once it’s filled with the business’s 100 classic pinball machines and arcade games like Pac-Man, Galaga and Donkey Kong.
The owners liked the space they originally opened in, they’ve said, but when they started noticing that more bars and restaurants in the area were adding pinball machines and games, they decided they wanted their customers to be able to enjoy a drink as well.
State law required, though, that the owners add food to their offerings if they planned to serve alcohol, and there just wasn’t enough space for that in the Mead location. When the move is complete, The Arcade will serve items like burgers, pizza, chicken strips, wings and pretzel bites. The full bar will offer mixed drinks, beer on tap and craft cocktails named for video games like Ms. Pac-Man.
The new space, which sits just north of B&C Barbecue and across the street from Dog Days of Sommer pet boarding business, will also have a 2,200 square-foot outdoor space set up with tables and chairs under umbrellas, and yard games.
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 4:51 PM.
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