Retro City Arcade is getting ready to open back up, now with 5,000 square feet of new space to boot.
The Evans amusement center temporarily closed on Sept. 1 to start expansion renovations. One year ago, owners Robert and Kathleen Owens launched the arcade with the intention of eventually moving beyond its 1,400 square foot space.
The 45 pinball and arcade machines Retro City began with has grown to about 100, including air hockey, basketball, driving games, foosball and skee-ball. The arcade will also house Hercules, a rare, renowned game machine manufactured in 1979. At about eight feet long and three feet wide, it is known as one of the largest pinball machines in the world.
The game spot will ring in its return to business this week with a VIP “Pre-Opening” and ribbon-cutting event on Thursday evening, followed by a grand opening on Friday. True to its namesake, its promotion has stressed ‘80’s nostalgia, itself a callback to Robert Owens’ own impetus for starting the arcade after retiring: his hobby, since youth, of collecting (and repairing) pinball machines.
The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will help usher in Retro City’s return on Thursday, at 4:30 p.m. Its grand reopening will be Friday, at 1 p.m. Retro City Arcade is located at 4446 Washington Road, Ste. 7, in Evans.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
