Travel Back in Time in ARCADA

ARCADA opens soon for lovers of video games and drinks

Correction: this story previously implied ARCADA serves liquor. ARCADA only serves beer, cider and wine.

If you thought Humboldt State University’s parking meters had a strong appetite for your coins, it’s time to put your pocket change to better use, because Humboldt’s first bar arcade is set to open soon.

The team work of Kristen “P-Nut” Thompson and Amber Saba went above and beyond to create an establishment for arcade fans. Thompson and Saba are well renowned for running local restaurant A Slice of Humboldt Pie, and the next step was to introduce Humboldt’s bar arcade.

Thompson and Saba have been working on the ARCADA project for some time. They chose 6th and K Street in Arcata for their location.

“In our minds this project has been in development for five years, but physically we have been working on that building for a year,” Saba said.

Arcada held a preview opening Feb. 23 and invited a limited number of people to check out the establishment. Thompson said even though their credit card machines weren’t set up, it helped give off an old school arcade vibe.

“Due to our credit card processing company we get to pretend that it’s the 80s,” Thompson said. “So we are only accepting cash transactions.”

The arcade machines are budget friendly, so there is no need to break the bank trying to finish a level. An urge to break a machine might arise, but that’s the joy of vintage games.

When it comes to playing video games, people tend to enjoy the experience by themselves. Saba had those people in mind while developing ARCADA.

“We have some introverted gaming people in the community who are very excited to have a public hangout space,” Saba said. “Where they don’t necessarily have to talk to someone, or if you go alone you don’t have to sit and be awkward.”

ARCADA will be open for business Feb. 26 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., so don’t be alarmed if you come across heavy traffic from people waiting to get in.