ALLEGAN — Downtown Allegan will soon be home to a new collaborative business, bringing ice cream, arcade games and, hopefully, liquor in one fun place.
The Regent Arcade Showroom, owned by Matt Adams and located at 128 Locust St., will officially connect with Scoopt, an ice cream shop at 155 Riverfront Plaza, in 2023. The companies are owned by Adams under the Small Town Amusements umbrella.
Month:The Regent Arcade combines old-time fun with new-age retail
“Small Town Amusements started in 2018 when we first worked with the city on the development of The Regent Arcade,” said Adams. “After COVID-19, we took over the arcade operation and moved to our current location, rebranding as The Regent Arcade Showroom.
“In 2021, Small Town Amusements purchased Scoopt, which is right in the middle of the riverfront, with the intention of combining both companies at that location. But then, we created this new partnership with ONE Enterprises for a location at street foot”.
The Regent Arcade opened in 2019 in the historic city-owned Regent Theatre, which approached Adams about opening a gallery in the building’s old dressing rooms, now more than a century old. For a time, the city rotated theater staff into the arcade and ran a small concession stand.
But when the pandemic broke out, the arcade and the theater were closed. When business began to reopen, the city could not afford to staff the arcade. Adams and his business partner took over, until the city decided it wanted to lease the space to someone else.
Adams landed on his feet on Locust Street, a commercial space three times the size. Since the storefront was designed for retail use, it began selling stools, a mini-fridge, and supplies, as well as hosting pinball tournaments and letting customers play.
Now, those opportunities will move with the business to 118 Brady Street, the former Iron Bridge Sports Bar, where the new venture will feature a combination of food, drinks, ice cream and pinball.
“We’re still in the early stages of planning,” Adams said. “But that’s exactly what we wanted to do, in terms of bringing The Regent Arcade and Scoopt together. ONE Enterprises has continued to make other investments in Allegan and we’re partnering with them.”
The entertainment center will feature more than ice cream.
“We hope to have a liquor license and a full bar, which will allow us to get creative with ice cream and slushies,” Adams said. “We will also have a full kitchen, which provides opportunities to advance our menu. We will have a new name for the business, which is also in development.”
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So far, feedback since the partnership announcement has been positive.
“We continue to focus on fun, and we’re excited to bring those two things together,” Adams said. “Everyone loves ice cream, and with the resurgence of pinball and the interest in arcade games, we’ll be able to have it all in one space. We think we’ll have a very unique place.”
— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink atcassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram@BizHolland.
