Arcade opens on South St. to give area youth an activity center
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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Michael Stewart and Shawn Dick play an arcade game at the South St. Arcade in Graham. The arcade was opened at the end of May by Greg Cotter to have a venue for children and teens to hang out. The venue offers arcade machines, food and drinks, axe throwing and more. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Noah Prater, in red, plays an arcade game with Christian Prater at the South St. Arcade Friday, June 24. The venue offers multiple arcade games which can be played as much as possible for one fee. Also at the venue is an axe throwing cage which is available for a separate purchase.
In late May, Greg Cotter opened South St. Arcade in Graham to answer a call from the community for an area youth activities center. Since its opening, the arcade has seen youth and their families come together at the location.
In Graham, Cotter owns Burgers and Billiards and is in a partnership owning KN Root Beer Drive In restaurant. He also owns the restaurant Burger Co in Iowa Park. He said he looked on social media and what he heard consistently is that the community wanted more for the area youth. He said an opportunity presented itself to him and he jumped at the chance.
“Just all of the sudden, I had an opportunity with a guy that does my stuff at Burgers and Billiards and he said, ‘I have about 45, 50 games I don’t know what to do with them,’ and I said, ‘I got an idea.,’” he said. “So I made some phone calls with people that own stuff on the square and I said, ‘Well, I’d love to put this thing on the square.’ (...) the leases were so expensive there, I decided that (...) I’d just wait a little while and then somebody called me and said, ‘Hey, I might have a perfect little spot for you.’ (...) we thought about it a little bit and what we wanted to do with it, and then pulled the trigger and put it in.”
The center provides arcade games, axe throwing, food and beverage options and more. Cotter said what he is surprised about regarding the location is the way families have been able to connect.
“It’s free play, so you come in and you pay a one-time fee at the door. (...) We offer axe throwing also, it’s a one time fee for hourly (throwing). (...) We do little personal pan pizzas, we do nachos, basically just (...) convenience-type stuff, drinks. There’s a party area that seats about 30 (...) with a big boardroom table in there (...),” he said. “It’s ironic that people come in here and then they end up playing the Connect Four and the little board games and that kind of stuff, UNO and stuff that we just got laying out here and there. So it’s ironic that they come in there to play the video games, then you see families coming together and doing stuff. I had a mom the other day that was in there playing UNO with their seven teenage kids and a couple of their friends and she says, ‘If I can (just) get them to do this at the house, (...) but it’s worth every penny to come in here and sit here with them and play this game.’”
For the full story, see the Wednesday, June 29 edition of The Graham Leader.
