Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Video Games + Alcohol / Crab Fries = New Sports Bar Near You

Ever want to watch sports, drink beer, play video games, and get waited on all at the same time?

Well, yesterday marked the official grand opening of Play2 – ‘The World’s First Interactive Sports Bar’ – and this place has our attention.


The new establishment is right next to Chickie and Pete’s in South Philly with the idea being cooked up by Pete Ciarrocchi (owner of Chickie’s). It is meant to be a bit more ritzy than its’ next door neighbor as it combines alcohol with innovation.

Here’s what you need to know from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Michael Klein (via the700level).

On Tuesday, he will open a club called Play2 next to his South Philly restaurant. Play2 has 18 semiprivate booths equipped with 58-inch plasma TVs and lighting systems; some have consoles for Xbox, Wii, and PlayStation gamers, and others come with musical instruments so the performances can be shown on screens. Ciarrocchi has a patent pending on the concept, which he calls apec (amusement pod entertainment center). He's planning to open another in February at PhiladelphiaPark in Bensalem. [philly.com]
So yeah, that sounds pretty cool. However, there are no pricing lists online.  Who knows what the price tag will be to run a game of Madden, consume crab fries and beer, all while watching the Sixers lose on big screen next to you. My guess is kinda pricey.  It's possible they may price themselves out for this glorified alcoholic arcade.  You could do something very similar at a buddies house.  But as long as they keep the prices reasonable, it should be a hit.  At the very least, the concept alone is pretty intriguing.

If you’ve had the pleasure of checking it out, leave your review in the comments as I’m sure a lot of us are curious.

At some point in the future, TheWizWit Team will take the show on the road to check it out. Stay tuned, we’ll let you know if it gets our stamp of approval.

Until then, check out a few pics below from the Play2 flickr stream (again via the700level).

















3 comments:

  1. play 2 will officially be open this tuesday, november 17, 2009. all booths are equipped with two gaming systems and a flat screen tv. most booths fit up to 6 people, the rest can fit up to 10. each booth can be rented at an hourly rate of $30/person/hour, $20 of that can go towards whatever you like whether it be food, drinks or even a t-shirt. there are different gaming packages such as rock band, dj hero, madden, halo etc. there is a totally different menu and it's a totally different atmosphere. - i read this online

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  2. Interesting...so basically you have to go there with a set agenda. Doesn't sound like the kind of place where you can just chill and relax with friends

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  3. Well, atleast someone still realizes that the future contains flourescent lights and Bowie-esque architecture. Chickie thought of this shit in like 92. This is what 2010 looks like!

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