 We were just watching the intro video with you and realized we're talking about the space And yet the video has a lot of the history of the space. Yeah, the elements, right? Yeah, I remember the receiver from the living room that then went into reclaimed video the reclaimed video carpet Which was an ordeal to put in the co-working space, right? Yeah, it's interesting and then like that movement and all the different domain 17 conference stuff Yeah, it's interesting and where it feels like both interesting, but a long way away from where the space is now That's right. And where is the space now? It's in a pretty interesting evolution of it. It is it is an apotheosis I'm not like it's better. This is the space has Absolutely bloomed blossomed into a full-blown arcade. Yeah, you've got a nice little work shirt I'm working and Antonello says I look like the janitor of reclaimed arcade And like in some ways yeah, we have been for four years Like we've been just sure with the idea of trying to preserve something to bring it people to the because I feel Like it has taken a lot of maintenance and a lot of community beyond us people like monitor boy other people Who have actually helped us have a real Legends of the community. Oh my gosh. You haven't read that comic monitor boy. Yeah Yeah, it's been it's been a real trip and I mean, I think I was telling you yesterday I can't believe we're in week two already like we're already on our second weekend Well underway of the arcade being open and really literally right behind these walls 20 people are playing over 57 arcade games a pinball machines the 80s music is running like it's happening I just talked with two women in the the living room and they were basically like this is amazing this is exactly like the 80s like living room I had and then like started reminiscing and then we were talking about like when we opened and stuff and I was like Yeah, like it when it hits and people like it hits on an emotional level It hits as an installation of something of a time, but then there's also really nicely preserved Games yeah, and pinball which has been super popular and people dig it out Yeah, and that's been so cool to watch and the games are in a good position. Yeah in a good shape right now They are it's an awesome experiencing people walk in because I think we did it right Which is they come into the VHS video store and immediately they're like thought I was coming to an arcade and you're in this tiny room You can't see into the arcade from there it's just the reclaim video store with one door and You know they see all the videos and stuff they get checked in then they walk through the door and the first thing They see is the 80s living room like now They're in their living room before actually that they walk into the larger arcade space So it's like more and more elements of like where am I and just traveling back in time until they get to the main arcade space Which is both nostalgic, but also futuristic I mean if we really pulled in that almost blade-runner feel with the lighting and the music and all the sounds and everything and The games make great furniture, right? Like so it's a it's really impressive I think for people and you know you wouldn't know it from this like strip mall shopping center that you drive up to we've had some People just come in because they saw the sign up front and had no idea what you're in for when they walk through the doors Like what is happening? They're like really this is here in Fredericksburg. It's like yeah Yeah, and like when you walk in like Tim said it's like you usually as they're walking through the VHS store into the living room You hear something like holy shit Oh, like like what that like you hear that and then like about five seconds three seconds later you hear a And that's where they've actually moved away from the living room right and seen the actual Which is blown up by a neon sign Yeah, which was like the beginning of it in November when we were like holy the Potential for this space to just pop like that was real and we nailed it Yeah, it just the space itself is a trip like it's a wild corner to go around VHS living room Arcade I love that one two three punch. Yeah, and it's been cool that people have come out I mean like I said we're in week two. There's a full house behind us now It's been busy all day long and and even in future weeks We're already seeing people book out lots of private parties lots of families I've seen a lot of kids you have seen people We've got step stools and people are bringing kids as small as three and four years old and propping them up and playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with them. We're learning how to play pinball machines And hanging out in the living room talking about like one father today was working with his kids about Atari Yeah, and they were playing like I think Atari asteroids and then space invaders and that was super cool to just see Him explain well, this is how the TVs used to look and this is how the consoles like that switch you have This is kind of like what a kid my age when I was your age, you know what I mean would have had Yeah I mean, I think we've had everybody from three years old to 53 and everything in between here and everybody has fun Like everybody leaves here saying I'll be back like this is really cool and I'll come back So today we got and this is a thing of good today has been a great day You think I'm great compliments like the place is filling up like it just feels good. Yeah, it's a good day for a week I'm arcade and Someone on top of that came in with a tub of VHS. I was there you were there Yeah, like 150 VHS tapes on top He showed up he had emailed me ahead of time and asked um if we buy out stuff And I said no not really I mean if you want to donate stuff to us totally fine But we don't really we're not in the buy-sell trade whatever we just it's a collection that we use in the space And he was like, oh, okay well I'll probably still bring them and so then today he shows up and he's like I need help lifting them out of the car and I'm like Okay, so me and Shane one of our employees go out there And it is one of those massive rubber made tubs full to the brim with VHS tapes and a working VCR and a beautiful JVC Hi-Fi stereo VCR kind of late 90s mid 90s. Yeah, it was an absolute beautiful haul Yeah, it's been super cool to see just people in the community come out and to learn about that I think you mentioned that the people you were talking to were associated with a homeschool group Yeah, that his book two separate sessions for 30 kids to come out here and learn a little bit about the history of arcade games And all of that and then obviously get to play in the arcade So it's a little field trip for them to come out here and be able to do something safely and we're doing that during the week So even not while we're actually open. We'll be doing that on weekdays So that was a cool opportunity like already getting into some educational programming. I'm all about it, right? It's been it's been really cool. Yeah, and that the space is just kind of ready to be occupied Yeah, like we had sitting between Tim and I using it as an office or just have collecting these games for now two Years two and a half to see other people use them and to like have them where they should be in a position where they're Accessible is everything. Yeah, I think the hardest part is Resisting the urge to change things like resisting the urge to say well What's next because obviously we're always like we've worked on this concept for so long now that it's successful We're immediately like what should we open up more days? Should we do discounts on the weekends? Like marketing is a big part of it, too It's like and we're still trying to learn what it means to market a physical location that serves the public different It's very very different. I mean, there's obviously overlap in terms of the word of mouth aspect Which has always been really big with reclaim post Facebook has been gigantic. Yeah, whereas like reclaiming doesn't even have a Facebook account So it's like, you know It's like there are things that are the same and things that are very different in terms of how you market it But I think right now what we're trying to find Comfort in is just this is working and this is working well So let's continue that and build off of it and see what the community wants what they're asking for and kind of build it over time Rather than great now Let's change it up and let's do this this week and let's do all of that because we have tons of ideas I mean, we've talked about everything from Saturday morning cartoons with the half-off special with you and your family and We talked about opening up Thursday nights whether we do tournaments for World Combat 2 or pinball tournaments There's something like that and all kinds of various ideas and things and I think that stuff will come a Big regent a lot of that stuff is COVID, right? There's a lot of restrictions Rightfully so around how many people you can have in the space and how do you control the flow of traffic in there? And I think we've done a really good job right now of doing of Controlling that and knowing how many people are in the space leaving room for cleaning and for social distancing and stuff But it's really hard when you start thinking through things like well Just open it up on a Thursday night for people to come and you want to do it But at the same time you're like, well, we don't want just anybody to show up We don't want to be that kind of business that's just like yeah party, you know like alto midnight those kind of things So it's it's difficult. In fact, we've even doubled down on like Wi-Fi so so much are we concerned about this but rather than us having other things out there. We created a TV antenna That from this studio can send over Raspberry Pi of various kind of media And it's picked up on two different TVs so you can social distance the TVs and everything in between and send I was wondering where you were going to come back to Regulations and over-the-air broadcast, but it's been fun in that like it is very controlled small space But like we've been able to even on this trip Actually like do some cool stuff Yeah, like we built some storage because we have you know extra boards and stuff that we got to start maintaining We have like space now We got to make for these pieces and the games and the maintenance But then also like we have a little time to experiment with you getting games online Us playing with TV Filing in some of the living room and via chess store It's been it's been so cool to see it because it's super functional the space with 20 people in it feels like it's empty Yeah, right we have you know no one's in there with them. You have a party by yourself, but also like You're separate as an employee so they can all do that and everything runs the games have stayed up We haven't had major problems. Yeah, it's very self-service in a regard It's it's not only beautiful, but it's also highly functional right and I just love that about it Like it's a it's a really one-two. It's very in some ways the arcade itself is very minimal. It's just the game Yeah, and I and I think I think if there's a lesson that we've we've learned in taking From reclaim hosting and we took it here was that like, you know, we have employees from day one We train them up to make sure that like I mean We're sitting here recording an episode while there is a full house behind the game not literally like the green screen That's obviously just an image But there's a wall there is a green screen wall behind us and behind that is the arcade and there are tons of people not tons But there's a full house in terms of the limits that we've put on it over there And we've been able to hang out over here and be separate from that We really spent these two weeks making sure they were trained up and comfortable on answering questions answering the phone Problems that come up even basic arcade troubleshooting. I taught them, you know How to like turn games on and off and open up the pen ball machine, which was crazy Yeah, so like they they have the basics down and obviously that's a bit self-serving. This is open on the weekends I Tim don't want to be here on the weekends, right? So I even have them looking for VHS mold and on beta and then also using the head cleaner Yeah, I showed and then we also have to show them how to use the select division the laser disc the beta max The vinyl like they need to be like that's kind of a job Like you need to be familiar with all the formats people are gonna ask you questions. So We're back and I think they could probably not hear us the whole time battery died on the camera, but we're back So they couldn't hear that either. I don't did you see when it cut out? This is a really professional Recording do we tell you how operationalized and good look I'm an arcade operator. I'm not a fucking, you know, studio man. I Moved on exactly From the TV studio in September. Yeah, it has moved that fast though It does seem like a lifetime ago But yeah, but like you were saying I mean the space is super functional People are having fun and I think the lesson that we learned from the space was you know Make sure that there's enough help so that we can you know be over here and not necessarily have to mind the arcade and everything else Especially it's open on the weekends. I'm not three days a week. Tim doesn't want to come on the weekend Yeah, but like that's the other thing like I mean practically Tim doesn't want to be on the weekends But three days means that it's not a five or six day a week job or seven And then it also means that you have time during the week to play with games to do some maintenance And it's kind of something we're just doing yeah several days a week But no one's really say you got to get to say like what worked what didn't and frankly there wasn't a lot that didn't work But I mean What was one of the big lessons that we actually readjusted that that very first weekend was we needed a coat rack Oh, right. It was a tiny thing But it was like oh people need somewhere to put coats because it's cold outside and they don't want to drape them over You know a table or something like that So we put a coat rack in the living room for people to set their coats down But there weren't any surprises like that not huge ones. I think the game maintenance will be a thing, right? Like so we already know yeah, that's something we already did this like what happened Wizard of war the sound chip, right? Had issues. We're testing the toot in common But we think it was a power Like you kind of modulated the power and that seems to have fixed toot in calm We got new board for phoenix, but the issue with phoenix still remains So we think it might be a power shoe But knowing like to your point about community knowing people that fix those things Like I can do some basic troubleshooting and then being able to send it off to someone that does the repairs and sends it back I mean, that's a good system. We have spare parts so that we can swap boards out and all that kind of stuff So yeah, I mean, I feel like we're in a really good place to even manage that which isn't you know Nothing considering the number of games that we have Yeah, 50. I think 54 Old-school video games on the floor and eight 10 mall wow 62 and at least like two more on the way. I believe so. Yeah, exactly Scramble super no super cobra Scramble and then we're going to get with the war back on. Yeah, we had so actually three I didn't even think of that. Yeah, so 57 in total that we almost We almost had space invaders. We thought back up and running It'll come eventually that was so but that was a moment where we were waiting for monitor boy to Maybe fix it in the moment if every game that would be You know, we'll get there eventually and that's crazy because we're already almost at capacity and it's been we've had to figure out like to your you know, like breaker issues with electricity electricity and like how many things go on an outlet The occupancy inspector was like, you're not allowed to use extension cords. So we're like, okay, so yeah So let's make sure that all that's good and we found out the way things were wired in the building Like half the building is on a single breaker So there have been some challenges there to figure out how to make it all work And you know, we can obviously make some of those repairs over time But we need to make sure we haven't had problems in that regard. No, we haven't no, but But, you know, it was a scramble, you know a week leading up to it to make sure that all that stuff was good to go And now it's been running really well and it's exciting It's been really rewarding to see people, you know having fun in the arcade and talking it up I love compliments, but I mean people, you know, just having fun and enjoying the space, you know It's it's out of our head and it's into the game. Exactly. That's the thing. It's like out there Now like whether it's good or not like we'll find out like whatever But like despite it, it feels it like it feels like Here is a space that's trying something that's pulling together some cool elements from our past and it sits Strangely between like the art of those cabinets in the 80s and those video games in the history But also like a feel of a place and a time and I like that it kind of like, you know It's concept and practical good fun. Yeah. Well, there were there were certainly some months there where I wasn't sure We were going to actually get to this point and in my hopes and dreams I don't think I expected that it would come in January So I think you know that we were ahead of schedule in that regard and realizing what we could do and That we could still even in the midst of a pandemic open safely and do it in the right way and have it still be successful So yeah, it seemed unreal when we were committed to saying we're going to get open in January But I'm glad we did it. Yeah, it happened and people are showing up and everybody has commented not just on how fun it is But also that the customer service and how safe things are and everything and so that's a real testament I think to the work that we've done. Well, that's the thing I think too that we brought over from reclaim hosting was, you know being a Being a bit like we knew good support goes a long way and people feeling happy and Taking care of and I think that's always been a strength You've had and like the wave and like when we have the snow on the first weekend Everybody got discount codes. Everybody was invited to come back. Everybody was like Hey, we know this is like a time like and then that goes pace forward. Yeah, it does for sure Because it costs you almost nothing, you know, yeah to be actually good is actually Probably a good idea like to have people who are coming to use interest in mind and to say look Thank you for what you're doing supporting us and showing any kind. It's so cool So that feels good too to be dealing with a public again in a different way Yeah, like a very physical present public So that's cool. I have no doubt that the story is not over I mean, like I said, we've got plenty of ideas and it's really just now navigating What's working and what we might want to tweak and what things we want to move into next and when's the right time to do Of course, that's a whole another element. I didn't I didn't expect to have to buy hand sanitizer stations You know back a year and a half ago when we were dreaming about that nice. They are they're super nice touchless ones Yeah, it's great But yeah, it'll be interesting, you know in the next couple months in the next year or so to see Where everybody moves and then how we respond to that because like I said that the current situation has Required a certain way that we operate very limited capacity Sessions that are booked in advance all that kind of stuff But as time goes on it'll be really interesting to just get a sense of like what do we want to change? What don't we want to change and where do we go from here? I just want to buy more game. So I think as soon as I get the green light, I'm going to be happy Yeah, well, if you know of another building that would be great Because we're pretty much a capacity. That's true though. Like I look around and like we filled it. Yeah And I don't have any more breakers for it It's full. It's like, okay. Yeah looking around here like Okay, where's that that wrecking ball? Well, we've got we've got options to expand if we need to we'll see how things go But it's been fun. I mean, it's super cool to be able to dream this up and to get to a point where it's reality And now where we go from here is all the next step of the next story. Yeah, so awesome Well, I think that's that's a wrap for this episode, but big fan. Stay tuned for the future Reclaim arcade for life