Game company rockets ahead with changes
at Sawgrass Mills
Premium content from South Florida Business Journal - by Susan R. Miller
Date: Friday, June 24, 2011, 6:00am EDT
The former Sega GameWorks at Sawgrass
Mills
in Sunrise is getting a complete
makeover, with a new name and a new
culinary partner.
The move comes as Sawgrass Mills announced
it will build a 40,000 square foot addition to
the mall’s Colonnade Outlets and revamp
space formerly occupied by Wannado City.
The games arcade has temporarily been
renamed GameRoom, but will be renamed
Johnny Rockets Fun and Games.
Earlier this month, Prime Time Amusements, a Fort Lauderdale-based arcade game company, in
a joint venture with other partners, took over the Sega space. Sega Entertainment USA
,
which operated Sega GameWorks, liquidated its 15 arcade restaurants nationwide.
The 20,000-square foot facility, in the mall’s Oasis section, is being transformed into an
entertainment complex that will include a 6,000-square-foot Johnny Rockets. A typical Johnny
Rockets is between 1,200 and 3,000 square feet, so it’s a big change for the Aliso Viejo, Calif.based restaurant chain.
Another corporate-owned Johnny Rockets operated inside the now-defunct Wannado City,
which shuttered last year. Several calls to Johnny Rockets’ corporate office were not returned.
Kyle Eldridge, who, with his father, Ken Eldridge, has 11 other Johnny Rockets franchises in
South Florida, said the new concept was “an easy sell” to the parent company.
“They were familiar with the [GameWorks] concept, and it goes hand in hand,” said Eldridge,
the franchisee for the new Johnny Rockets.
The entertainment venue, which is slated to open in August if the owners can get through what
they describe as “a difficult permitting process,” is a collaboration of several area entrepreneurs.
Among them is Ron Mogerman, one of the co-owners of Grand Prix Race-A-Rama in Davie,
which was demolished in 1986 to make way for Interstate 595. He entered into a joint venture
with David Goldfarb, president of Prime Time Amusements. Other partners include Claudio
Sassi, Robert Dunn and Jonny Rubacel.
The Sawgrass Mills project is an area of growth for Prime Time.
Goldfarb’s 20,000-square foot warehouse is located next door to Xtreme Indoor Karting, a
60,000-square-foot go-kart facility located alongside Interstate-95 near Commercial Boulevard.
Prime Time provides video and arcade machines there, as well as in numerous other venues,
including NASCAR
Sports Grille in Orlando, Universal Orlando Resorts and the Muvico
Hialeah 12 theater.
started business in 1992
As a 19-year-old college student, Goldfarb started his business in 1992 with a couple of pool
tables and games, and a sub shop. From there, he expanded.
Goldfarb recently started the “third leg of the tripod,” creating a turnkey arcade businesses in
Africa.
“We were asked not to just sell them the equipment, but to do the whole gamut,” he said. “We
brought in an in-house architect, and he has a team who does engineering, design, décor and
branding.”
There are five in the works.
Walking through his warehouse, Goldfarb points to what in the U.S. might be considered
dinosaur video and arcade games.
They are getting a new life in a new country: Paint is stripped and a fresh coat is applied, new
circuit boards and LED screens are installed, and new decals are put on.
“We have 200 machines going over there,” Goldfarb said. “Africa is an untapped market.”
The new venture is where the company has “turned the corner.” While most companies buy or
rent equipment, the venture in Africa has “taken the company to the next level,” he said.
While he won’t share revenue figures, Goldfarb said sales have increased by 35 percent, yearover-year.
His company also provides games for corporate events. Clients include Citrix Systems, Nike
, American Express
, Comcast and the U.S. Army.
“We tell people [that] whatever you see at Dave & Buster
said.
’s, we can take to you,” Goldfarb
The growth in at-home video gaming hasn’t hurt Prime Time, which focuses on games that can’t
be found in the home and that offer tickets for prizes.
As for Prime Time’s newest collaboration with Johnny Rockets, Goldfarb and Eldridge are
hoping it will serve as a prototype. He blames his predecessor’s failures on its “less than
desirable” food. He believes the key to its success lies with the food.
“When we took over the facility, we immediately put in a higher-grade food, but we always
knew we were going to bring in a food partner,” Goldfarb said.
Johnny Rockets will appeal to both kids and parents, Eldridge said. It will serve liquor,
including spiked milkshakes.
There also will be free Wi-Fi, big-screen TVs and party rooms.
“We book parties at all of our restaurants, but most kids aren’t screaming to have their parties
there now,” Eldridge said. “But if you bring games into the equation, the sky is the limit.”
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