Arcade Asheville bar in downtown undergoing changes

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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It’s looking like Arcade Asheville is splitting into two distinctly different spaces. I haven’t been by to see it, but a couple of people have said that upstairs will be called Tetris, and will be more of a hang-out game-playing lounge, while downstairs will remain more of bar and dance space.

Arcade Asheville opened in January 2011 and has been a hit with its classic and new video games, as well as DJ dance parties, trivia nights and karaoke contests. The bar initially opened with food, but eventually dropped the food service. We’ll keep an eye on the latest changes.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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6 Comments

  1. Renee June 13, 2013

    The first time I went to Arcade Asheville was for a friend’s birthday party. Everyone had a blast and, at the end of the day, I walked away planning to drag everyone I knew there.

    A couple of weeks later I took a friend and had a blast again.

    A couple of weeks after that I wanted to go for lunch with my family and they’d turned into a private club that no longer served food, didn’t have day-time hours, charged a cover, and focused on music instead of, and despite, still having the full arcade.

    I love the (old) idea of the place, but now it’s less like an arcade and more like a douche-y bar. Whenever I drive through downtown I remember the first couple of trips and think about going again, but then I remember all of the changes and take my quarters elsewhere.

    Reply
  2. Joshua July 20, 2012

    It’s still open? What a nosedive this place took. Last time I was in there it seemed like it was on its last leg. Disgustingly dirty, from the bathrooms to the patrons.

    Reply
  3. Morgan July 20, 2012

    It will actually be called Tetrus. Not Tetris for obvious copyright reasons.

    Reply
  4. Nate July 19, 2012

    Unless they keep that name *off* of all their advertising and signage, I’m thinking that the owners could be getting a call or a letter from The Tetris Company, LLC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tetris_Company) in fairly short order . . .

    Reply
  5. Doug Sahm July 19, 2012

    That place started strong, but its pretty dreadful now.

    Reply
  6. Orton July 19, 2012

    It was a hit for a while, but they lost a lot of customers when they stopped giving you a couple tokens to play a game each time you bought a beer, and also after they got liquor. I love Pac Man and all, but I’m not going to doll out 50 cents each time to play a game that came out in 1980. I haven’t been there in a good while but from what I’ve heard it’s been a ghost town on a lot of nights for the past year or so.

    Reply

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