The new space on Walnut Street has more room for fun.
Were you one of the many fans of the old Starport Arcade? The family-friendly downtown gaming center had a solid stream of customers before COVID-19 shut it down.
Now it’s opened bigger and better than ever. Starport Arcade & Pub celebrated its grand reopening in July in a new location on Walnut Street. Formerly occupied by Blaze Nightclub, the space is now home to a stunning 80-plus arcade games—including 20-some pinball machines, about a dozen racing games, various cabinet games, and even some collector’s editions. There’s also a full kitchen and bar and two dozen TVs where sports fans can watch their game of choice.
We caught up with Max Cummons, one of three co-owners of “the new Starport,” as he refers to it, to see what else is new.
Q: How would you describe Starport to someone who’s never heard of it?
Max Cummons: It’s a full-scale family entertainment center. We have good food and a great selection of beer for folks over 21, but we welcome guests under 21 until 9 p.m. every night. Honestly, our target age range is like three years old to 80 years old, and a large percentage of our customers are young professionals or parents and kids, so it’s definitely family-friendly.
Q: Why the move to a new space?
MC: My business partner Rob Khoury and I previously owned Blaze Nightclub, but when COVID came around, it shut us down—and Starport, too. When we were able to open back up, we decided we didn’t want to do a nightclub anymore, and Chris Meyers, the owner of the old Starport—who we had a pretty good relationship with—was looking for a new place. So, that’s where our partnership was born. We turned the nightclub space into the new Starport.
Q: What’s on the menu?
MC: Right now, we’re doing pizzas, sandwiches, and all kinds of ‘bar food’—onion rings, boneless wings, and stuff like that. Our new menu is still in development, so that list will continue to grow. We also have one of the largest tap selections around—maybe the largest in West Virginia. We have draft beer, hard seltzer, Twisted Tea, and even a few wines on tap.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about your game selection?
MC: Our larger, flashier games are on the top two floors. The basement is where you get into the more classic pinball and retro cabinet games. And we rotate games pretty often to keep things fresh. We’ve only been open for about two months, and we’ve already swapped out about a dozen games already.
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