UPTOWN — Uptown Arcade has moved out of its storefront in the neighborhood’s entertainment district, but its owner said he hopes to reopen in the spring.
The bar-arcade business has left 4830 N. Broadway and its signs were removed. Uptown Arcade has not made a public announcement about the future of the business.
Owner Aaron Allen told Block Club he “retired” the Broadway spot and put the games and other equipment into storage. In a brief interview, Allen said the plan is to find a new location once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.
“We’re going to make a resurgence in the spring when this blows over,” Allen said, but did not say whether the arcade would open in the same location.
Uptown Arcade opened in spring 2016, bringing the growing popularity of arcades with bars to the Uptown Entertainment District. The bar specialized in craft beer and whiskey, while the back room contained about 35 classic arcade games, Allen previously told DNAinfo.
Uptown Arcade has held charitable and community events, including a bar crawl benefiting local schools and a holiday vintage market.
Like most businesses, Uptown Arcade faced struggles due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With the indoor dining ban, Uptown Arcade recently had to rely on outdoor-only service. The stretch of Broadway that includes Uptown Arcade received expanded outdoor dining, but the program only came online in September. Uptown Arcade does not have a kitchen.
Uptown Arcade has joined a growing number of restaurants and bars choosing to close over the winter and wait out the coronavirus pandemic. Neighboring businesses, including Burke’s Public House and Broadway Cellars, have announced winter closures, as has Andersonville watering hole Hopleaf.
Most businesses closing for the winter are hibernating in their existing location, unlike Uptown Arcade. Allen declined to say why he was leaving the Broadway space instead of waiting out the pandemic in place.
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