Joey the Cat's Arcade

An Old-School Arcade Restaurant Has Big Plans for the Mission | Eater SF

"I've followed Joey The Cat, a Mission District arcade at 3252 19th Street that operated as a private skee-ball palace for the past three years where owner Joey Mucha hosted corporate and private events while running a rental and repair business that dispatches boardwalk-style games to 17 bars and restaurants (including Trademark and Woods Island Club). Mucha — whose family has owned the former auto body shop at Shotwell and 19th since 2014 — is converting the space into a family-friendly full restaurant and bar, emphasizing "wholesome family fun" rather than the typical adults-only arcade bar; he wants family birthday parties with adults and kids eating meals as they play. After learning the private-event setup ran afoul of city regulations, he recently secured city approval and now plans a full kitchen build-out and a culinary residency with a "young and hungry" chef to create fast-casual, "food that’s consumable whilst playing" (think eating while playing The Claw, Whac-A-Mole, or skee-ball). Rather than a pop-up, he’s proposing a revenue-share partnership to help an up-and-coming chef build a brand and brick-and-mortar presence, aiming to open as an arcade, restaurant, and bar by spring 2021 if all goes according to plan." - Eve Batey