ARTS & CULTURE
Wondercade P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY WO N D E R CA D E
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WONDERCADE
With the opening of Wondercade and Game N Groove this summer, Westwood is adding a burgeoning “video game district” to its list of attractions BY S E A N M . P E T E RS
W
estwood has its own video game district, thanks to the addition of businesses Wondercade and Game N Groove, which both opened this summer. Wondercade is a “retro-future” arcade packed with classic and contemporary video games and pinball machines and is open to all ages until 9 p.m., with food and adult beverages available.
Game N Groove buys and sells used video games, movies and music — including classic and vintage items. The two businesses are neighbors, suddenly making Westwood a premium destination for gamers of any age. This is part of a promising trend for the neighborhood due to the resurgence of new businesses that are opening up in once-vacant storefronts.
Leslie and Bill Rich, owners of Wondercade, moved to Westwood together 18 years ago and began to amass their own collection of arcade cabinets. It all started with Space Invaders. Asteroids came soon afterward. Then a pinball machine. After four or five game cabinets were under their roof, the idea of opening their own arcade came up more and more in conversation. As time went on, Leslie and Bill began to visit arcades to see how they operated and figure out how they’d like to run their own. One of the biggest
problems they encountered with many of the arcades was that children were not allowed inside, which seemed counterintuitive since video games were originally marketed to kids and teens. So when the time came for them to open their establishment, they decided it would be for the whole family. While most newly opened arcades seem to be bars first and arcades second, Wondercade operates as an arcade that happens to serve food and drinks — boozy, if you’d like. “We found that was a huge niche that wasn’t being served,” Bill says. “What we wanted to bring to the neighborhood was somewhere you could bring your family and feel safe.”
NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 23, 2021
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