NEWARK -- It's almost here.

The long-anticipated opening of Barcade, a chain of craft beer bars featuring classic arcade games, will open its doors in Newark on Saturday, Aug. 26.

"We're very happy with the way it turned out and hopefully we'll be a good addition," Paul Kermizian, CEO and co-founder of Barcade, told NJ Advance Media.

Newark will be Barcade's seventh location and its second in New Jersey. Other locations include Jersey City, Philadelphia, New Haven, Conn. and three in New York City.

Kermizian, who grew up in Jersey, said the company wanted to expand and Newark was a logical next step.

"It's a great city, it's got a lot of character and great architecture. It seemed like a good time to get to establish ourselves," he said. The 4,000 square-foot space is located on 494 Broad Street near a light rail line, Broad Street train station, Rutgers Business School, NJPAC, and Audible.com's offices.

"I think it can be a good night life area," Kermizian said. "We're a little early maybe, but we're confident that there's going to be a nightlife soon."

Baracade offers 25 draft beers, mostly from local or regional breweries. The bar doubles as a vintage arcade with pinball machines and 40 video games mostly from the 1980s and 90s like PacMan, Donkey Kong, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel vs. Capcom.

The area around Broad Street has seen a transformation this year with the opening of the renovated Hahne & Co. building featuring a Whole Foods and Barnes and Noble.

Kermizian said 27 employees will work at Barcade, 15 of whom are Newarkers.

Barcade will be open noon to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and noon to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information visit www.barcade.com.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.