Saturday night marked the end of Hero Depot’s operation in its original location, but that doesn’t mean it’s ‘game over’ for Ryan Kiser’s arcade.

Shocktoberfest owner Jason Palumbo welcomed Kiser – and all his games – with open arms.

The two owners are working to schedule a grand opening of Hero Depot in Shocktoberfest, potentially around Jubilee Days. The businesses and respective staffs will be getting acquainted in the meantime so each staff member can serve in the restaurant or work on game machines equally well.

Kiser will be installing his games over the next several days.

“Ryan is free to put his games anywhere he wants,” says Palumbo. “I want him to be a complete success.”

The building has been only a bar for the last 80 years, but Palumbo and Kiser hope to use the location’s history to build a new image. The owners hope families will be drawn to parallel entertainment for adults and children.

“We do have kids and family that have enjoyed both of our businesses, and I really want this to be a family-friendly environment,” says Kiser.

Kiser and Palumbo each applied unsuccessfully for the retail liquor license given to Chalk N’ Cheese in November. But with Shocktoberfest’s restaurant license, they can still serve alcohol while allowing children in as well – which fits right in with Kiser’s vision of an arcade where patrons can enjoy a drink while they play games.

Kiser says he will keep the name Hero Depot. Palumbo says there will be two signs at the single location and each name will be promoted equally. “We want to be able to make everybody feel one hundred percent welcome, no matter who they walked in for.”

“There’s no desire at all to have one name or the other be bigger,” says Palumbo. “We don’t care about the order, we want customers to be happy.”

Kiser says the location has changed, but he will bring all the elements of Hero Depot’s location on 2nd Street to Shocktoberfest.

 

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