DORA — What 17-year-old doesn’t love video games? Jeh Hardy certainly does. And now he’s hoping to share that love with people in his community, while fixing a problem adults and kids have been complaining about for generations.
People always complain that there is nothing in the area for kids to do, so Hardy set out to create somewhere kids could hang out, play games and have fun, all in a safe, inexpensive location. BAM Billiards, Arcade and More is located in the Dora Shopping Center on Highway 78 and is set to open later this month, although an exact date has not been announced.
Hardy’s parents own the business next door, J&J Vending, so he grew up in the arcade game industry. In fact, the idea for the arcade came from a family friend who often hung out at his parents’ shop. Edward “BamBam” Wiggins, was a family favorite when he stopped by their shop and talked about the game room he wanted to open. Unfortunately, he died before he could see the dream realized, but Hardy and his family wanted to honor him, so they named the arcade after him and his picture graces the back wall.
As he began looking at a space, sourcing games for his arcade and deciding what he wanted to do with the space, Hardy became aware of an indoor, blacklight putt putt course. That set the tone for the business, and Hardy decided to go with a blacklight theme throughout.
Hardy is excited to get the doors open and show off his creation to the community. He hopes the children and adults in the area will benefit from having this in Dora.
“I want this to be good for the community,” Hardy said. “One of my biggest motivations in this is to help the community.”
The location also has a party room that will be available for rent for events or parties. The arcade will operate on a wristband system, where each child (or adult) will be $13 at the door and can be used for unlimited game play on the arcade machines and putt putt course. There will be additional charges for prize games, snack bar items, pool and glow-stick items, for those who are interested.
Hardy hopes the community will support his efforts and allow him to expand his business in years to come.
For more information, visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Bamfun.
