SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – When the space next to The Baked Bear became available, Kevin Fuller, who had been working on the ground floor below the space at Stateline Brewery over the past eight years, had an idea about having some type of activity business around the village.
“I get asked all the time in the brewery, what’s there to do indoors,” said Fuller. “A lot of families don’t want to hang out in casinos and still have a good weekend. So that had always been kind of an idea.”
Fuller, having worked at the Brewery, already had a relationship with the building’s owner and pitched him the initial idea for the arcade.
“I figured somebody had already taken this place and he did say there were definitely people that were interested, but he was looking for something different,” added Fuller. “He liked my idea, so from there I wrote a business plan and submitted it to him.”
The space was ultimately reconfigured with a demising wall that allowed for two separate businesses, one of which awarded to Fuller to operate as the Retroactive Arcade. And while the business is ready to open its doors, Fuller is still waiting on the ultimate sign off from the city, which he hopes will be any day.
As for the day-to-day operations of the business, Fuller sees an opportunity to fill a void.
“We’ve lived and worked in a lot of tourist towns over the years and usually there’s always some kind of rec center or arcade within the main tourist hub. I’m an 80s and 90s kid so the retro theme was my idea because I wanted to bring back an old-school arcade.”
With the idea of the arcade also came the hard (and awesome) task of deciding which games to include. After doing some online research, Fuller was able to locate nearly all the games he wanted through two separate purveyors. A total of 53 games are currently spread across the space with classics like Rampage, Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat II, Double Dragon, NBA JAM, a handful of pinball machines, and even Fuller’s favorite game: Time Crisis 2.
Even though Fuller thought about the idea of old school nostalgia of coin operated machines, he ultimately decided on the approach of free play. This allows the patron to come and go as they please throughout the day for a one-time fee and they can play an unlimited number of games over that span.
“If you pay toward the end of the day, I can work with people so say you came in an hour before we’re closing, well let you come back the next day,” Fuller added. “Five and under are going to be free and then we’ll have deals of five dollar off admission flyers going around and then if you’re a family of like four or more, we’ll throw in a free admission.”
The pricing approach to start will be $35 for the day ($25 for ages five to 12) and $25 if you’re a local. This gets you unlimited play on any of the machines, all the 80s and 90s vibes from music to commercials, and if you get hungry or thirsty, snacks and beverages (including beer) will be available for purchase.
Hours out of the gate are planned to be 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. but Fuller said they are something that could vary based on initial feedback. He also has plans for an industry night and says the arcade can also be made to rent for birthday (or other) parties.
For now, it’s placing the final touches on the space with one hand on the rip cord, ready to pull once the city gives the signal. Even through the waiting game isn’t ideal, Fuller knows the family friendly space will be good for all ages.
“It’s good for the adults because they know the games, but the enjoyment of playing with their children and introducing them to those games, if they haven’t already … kind of a community hangout is what I like to look forward to.”
Retroactive Arcade is located at 4118 Lake Tahoe Blvd Unit 6A in South Lake Tahoe. You can visit them online at retroactivearcadeslt.com or reach them by phone at 317-408-6252.