Oasis Arcade brings retro games, pinball and date-night vibe to downtown Wausau
The new Jefferson Street arcade-bar blends classic cabinets, pinball, mocktails and a 21-and-up evening atmosphere in the former Hi Restaurant space.
People who walk into the new Oasis Arcade in downtown Wausau usually do two things.
First, they look to their left, noticing the bright blue fish tank which stands out against the dark backdrop of the rest of the bar area, and frankly the entire establishment.
They then look the other direction — to the right, where they see rows of arcade and pinball machines. Both generate a lot of excitement.
Oasis Arcade opened officially Wednesday, though some groups in town got early previews.
And before that, many people were buzzing over the place on Facebook — the establishment garnered 2,600 followers on Facebook before it officially opened.
When people think about an arcade in Wausau, they probably think about the old Aladdin’s Castle in the Wausau Center mall: Gangs of teenagers playing the latest Capcom cabinet that seems designed to eat quarters like Pac-Man eats pellets.
But Oasis Arcade is a very different experience.
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Starting Oasis Arcade in Wausau
Co-owner Tom Powers (who started Oasis with co-owner Seth Clendenning) wasn’t initially convinced that the idea of an arcade in Wausau. He talked with his friend, Mark, who helps keep the machines running at the arcade. Powers rode with Mark to Eau Claire to buy a modern arcade cabinet for his home with thousands of games on it. Mark was buying a vintage pinball machine.
When Powers’ son came home from the Navy though, he didn’t see him for hours. He’d been playing the arcade cabinet the whole time. Later his other son and his girlfriend came over. He found them the next morning — they’d stayed up all night.
That, and seeing some business models that worked in other areas, turned him into a believer.
“I wanted to have the ability to say, yeah, the games are on this side, and then I could have a completely different chill vibe on the bar side,” Powers told The Wausonian.
He scoured the Wausau area for a location when he came across the former Hi Restaurant (and former Chang Garden location before that, which still maintains a Weston location).
It featured the separation between the bar and arcade that he wanted. It also took a ton of work clearing out the old restaurant and its stuff from the building. That include a huge 5-station wok setup made of solid iron that took five people four hours to get out of the kitchen.
And painting. So much painting. The walls are jet black, helping the arcade-style lights and machines pop out.
The main draw
Oasis features a slew of games to play, including retro arcade games (think Pac-Man, Gauntlet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Galaga) to both brand-new pinball machines and vintage pinball machines. (Elektra is a particularly interesting machine, with a distinctive electric hum to it.) The newer ones feature familiar properties such as Star Wars, Jaws and even Stranger Things.
Tokens are three for $1. Most machines take one token though the newer pinball cabinets take three. Powers says they wanted a token model because a flat fee would make most people feel they need to stay longer than they want to get their money’s worth.
During a preview visit recently, $20 was enough for two people to play for over two hours with some tokens left over.
Powers said the food was meant to be affordable as well. They focused on snack food, with a partnership with Jefferson Street Inn for its chef to provide packaged desserts. Otherwise the menu includes pizzas, fries, loaded chips, chicken tenders, Hmong egg rolls and other snack-style items, with names that lean into movie and gaming references such as Pizza the Hut, The Matrix), “You Stay Home and Eat All The Freaking (torilla) Chips, Kip.”
Powers says they also have a partnership with Jefferson Street Inn that will allow conference attendees at the hotel to enjoy the arcade as well, giving the Inn a value add for its conference hosting.
And, the place is planning to host pinball leagues and small tournaments, and a joint competition on Big Buck Hunter in partnership with Bob Lamovec at The Garage, Powers says.
Oasis Arcade’s crowd might not be what you think
One thing that lined up particularly well, Powers says, is the demographics of people who followed Oasis Arcade and the demographic he was going for. Powers said the demographics ranged from 24-54, and a ratio of twice as many women as men. And most were within a 30-mile radius.
That fits because Oasis Arcade is meant to be a date night spot for nostalgic millennials and Gen Xers. Children are allowed until 7 pm, and must be accompanied by an adult; after 7 pm, it’s adults 21 and over only.
“We’re not open later than midnight at any of the busy nights, because I’m not looking for the last-call crowd,” Powers told me. The establishment is regulated as a bar, which is why minors need to be accompanied by an adult.
That’s perfect for date night, and seeing the strong positive signal from women early on boosts that further, Powers explains.
“That tells us a couple things,” Powers says. “One, it tells us that the date-night idea is going to hit because guys have no say in what happens on date night. So if the ladies say, ‘I’d like to go to this place,’ that’s where they’re going to go.”
But something tells me that, especially in the millennial and GenX crowd, they won’t have to twist their date’s arms too much to talk them into going.
Oasis Arcade is located on Jefferson Street where Hi Restaurant was. It is open 3-11 pm Wed-Thurs, 3 pm-midnight Friday, 10 am-midnight Saturday, and 10 am-6 pm Sunday. It is closed but available for private events Monday and Tuesday. Find them on the web or on Facebook.
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