Local Wichita Business Spotlight: The Arcade
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The Arcade is a Wichita treasure! Step back into the 1980s and have a true nostalgic experience. This is the perfect place to take your family, work team, or a night out with friends. They have a huge selection of 1980s and 1990s arcade games. The Arcade offers a variety of party packages or private time blocks that you may book for your group during nonbusiness hours. The admission fee lets you play all the arcade games as much as you would like, they are set to free play. The pinball is only fifty cents per play. They also offer gift certificates, which would make a fun gift for clients. We recently visited with Derek Sorrells, co-owner and founder of The Arcade, to learn more about this exciting Wichita Business.
1. Business Name? The Arcade
2. How many years have you been in business? Three years
3. What is your business’s mission statement? Our tag line is really our mission statement in a way - “Where the Game is Never Over.” It’s really all about unlimited fun with friends and family. Being able to get together and have a great time.
4. What inspired you to start this business? As a child of the 80s, I spent many hours (and dollars!) in the arcades. I purchased my first full size machine in 2009. Fifty-two games later, my basement was FULL. The problem was, unless I had a party, those games primarily sat off in the basement. I wanted to share the love I had for them (and the 80s) with others. I texted a friend, who is the best arcade repair guy in the state, (my co-owner, Michael Jensen), and told him I wanted to open an arcade, and asked if he was interested in being a part of it. He responded, “I’m in.” We were open in less than 60 days!
5. What kind of education or training prepared you to operate your business? Over the years, I’ve owned and operated several businesses. A few successful, but many were not. I learned a great deal early on in business by trial and error. Most importantly, I learned that a hobby is not a business. A hobby costs you money, a business makes you money. A hobby is what you want, a business is what the customer wants. Many hobbyists have a very difficult time making the pivot because they still want what THEY want. It’s not about you anymore once you open as a business. It’s about your customer.
6. How did you know that Wichita was the perfect city to open your business in? I had friends in other cities that were running successful arcades and Wichita didn’t have anything like that. There was no place to play classic 80s/90s arcade games. We thought, why not?! 7. What is your favorite thing about owning and running a business in Wichita? The people. The Wichita locals are friendly, they smile and they like to chat. They love to learn more about the games and their history and how to play them better of course! 8. How do you feel your business has impacted our community? It’s brought people together in many ways. A group of young guys pounding it out on NBA Jam or NFL Blitz that weren’t even born when the game was released. Twenty-somethings on a date, or forty-fifty year olds out on a night on the town. It’s amazing to us how the arcade has crossed all genders, races, and ages. Everyone seems to love it. The classic arcades brought people together in a way that today’s gaming systems can’t. They are PHYSICALLY together. You see the emotion, the body movement, the facial expressions. Nothing beats it. 9. What is the most heartfelt compliment a customer has given you or your business? There is nothing better than hearing a 40 something Dad walk out of the back with his teenage son and say, “That’s what an arcade was like in my day!” 10. How much do you treasure your employees and the people you work with? My employees are the business. They are family. Without them, the business is just a shell. They are what makes the customer experience an amazing one. It begins and ends with them. 11. What is the most satisfying aspect of being a business owner? Bringing something that you love to others and having them love it as much as you.
The Arcade
Location: 139 N Mead St. Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: 316-844-0010 (Call or Text!)
Website: www.thearcadewichita.com
Instagram: @thearcadewichita
Hours:
Thursday: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Friday: 1:00pm - 1:00am
Saturday: 1:00pm - 1:00am
Sunday: 1:00pm - 8:00pm
We love to feature other local businesses in our community, but we are also proud of our own! Please contact Tobie Andrews Real Estate Media for all of your residential and commercial photography needs. Photos, video, and drone. Let us help you! tobieandrewsre.com
