Back in August, we announced the arrival of a brand new old-school arcade in Trounce Alley.
Now we’re here to confirm that Quazar’s Arcade is open for business! This coin-operated arcade is officially ready to take you on a trip down nostalgia lane, as of Saturday, November 17th.
The operators of the 1215 Government St location have 40 games on the floor (20 pinball and 20 arcade), including X-Files, BurgerTime, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Alien Pinball, Atari A.P.B, Ghostbusters, and more!
Quazar’s Arcade opened their doors for a brief sneak peek on Friday night, and customers flocked to the machines like moths to a flame.
According to co-owner Steve Webb, around 200 people stopped by to check out the establishment on Friday, and there was a lineup on the street before doors opened on Saturday.
Today, the 80’s gamer’s paradise is open from 12 p.m. til 8 p.m., and these will be the store’s regular hours 7 days a week.
The business has been lauded by customers and celebrities alike, the most notable of which is none other than Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum.
“I just want to say a hearty congratulations on your new arcade, I’m excited about the arcade,” Goldblum raves in a video that was posted to the company’s Instagram page.
Partners Steve Webb, Brian Webb, and Justin Lafrenier have been working on bringing this project to life for the better part of a year.
“Personally I’ve been collecting these machines for about 7 or 8 years. One of the most difficult parts of it was the inventory,” Steve Webb told Victoria Buzz.
“It’s not like you can just walk in somewhere and just buy 40 arcade machines. Almost every one of them are sourced through private collectors or ads…and they have to be restored in most cases. Each one of those machines was a real labour of love.”
In addition to hosting Western Canada’s largest collection of coin-operated games, Quazar’s Arcade also serves up Discovery Coffee and Phillips Soda, and has a snack machine for customers to fill up their tank.
As of Friday the most popular machines were the Alien pinball and Indiana Jones pinball games. Of the arcade games, Terminator 2 seemed to be the crowd favourite.
We know what we’ll be doing this weekend – do you?
