HAYWARD — There’s not many places where you can play classic arcade games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Congo Bongo as a jukebox pumps out 1970s and ’80s rock-and-roll.
You could at the retro High Scores Arcade, with locations in Alameda and Hayward, before the shelter in place order. Now, the future of the business is in doubt.
After being closed for more than two months, the stores may lock their doors for good unless the owners can raise enough money to stay afloat.
In March, owners husband-and-wife Shawn and Meg Livernoche joined other businesses across the country and shut down in response to the shelter in place ordered because of the coronavirus pandemic, hoping the closure would be for a few days.
“Our whole goal is to just to stay current on our rent,” Meg Livernoche said.
Their bills total about $10,000 a month for the two locations, as well as for a storage facility where some games are stored.
What makes things even more uncertain is that High Scores could be one of the last businesses allowed to reopen under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter in place orders.
“There’s a lot of nervousness about our business in general,” Livernoche said in an interview, noting that despite being a mom-and-pop establishment, High Scores falls under Newsom’s “Phase Four” reopening, or the final phase for reopening places statewide.
That phase will ease restrictions where large groups of people gather, such as concerts, conventions and sporting events, which Livernoche said many people assume do not include a small business such as High Scores Arcade.
“It’s frustrating,” she said.
So far, the couple has raised about $8,000 from donations, including through a GoFundMe page.
Their business also received a $5,000 grant from Hayward’s Small Business Resiliency Grant Program, which was launched in response to the pandemic.
More than 1,600 applications were made for 76 available grants, a sign of just how much local businesses during the shelter in place restrictions.
Other Hayward businesses that received grants include The Groomsmen Barbershop, 1617 B St., Hippies Brew at 888 C St., and The Dirty Bird Lounge, 926 B St.
“We aren’t just scared for us and the legacy of our games,” Meg Livernoche said in an email to the businesses’ fans. “We’re scared for our communities, who are about to suffer a great loss of art, culture and entertainment. There’s been a lot of attention to the larger majorities of small business categories like restaurants and retail, but I beg you for a lens on the niche businesses like mine — like Pacific Pinball Museum, Musee Mechanique, The New Parkway — businesses that are so unique that they draw people from afar.”
Kim Huggett, president of the Hayward Chamber of Commerce, said High Scores Arcade plays a key role in the effort to keep the city’s downtown lively.
“Hayward has very much decided that its downtown area should be focused on entertainment, such as restaurants and other places,” Huggett said. “High Scores has definitely contributed to that.”
High Scores Arcade has four part-time employees at its two locations at 1414 Park St. in Alameda and 1051 B St. in Hayward. The four have been furloughed since the shelter in place order began, Meg Livernoche said.
“They are all valued,” she said. “These people are not easily replaced. They need to know about the games and how to fix them if something goes wrong and interact with customers.”
The couple launched the Alameda location in 2013 and opened in Hayward in 2016.
Currently, they have about 145 vintage games, including such classics as Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat II and Revolution X. Their collection is mostly from the 1980s and early ’90s.
Some games are stored in the couple’s apartment.
“I am optimistic,” Livernoche said about the future of the family-owned business. “I really think people are going to want some wholesome entertainment when this is done.”
To donate to help the business stay afloat, go to https://donorbox.org/guardians-of-gaming-join-us-in-keeping-classic-games-alive or its GoFundMe page at gf.me/u/xzgncf.
