Susan Loyer

@SusanLoyerMyCJ

The arcade will feature a variety of classic video and pinball machines

There also will be retro cocktails, craft beers and a snack menu

This newest addition to the downtown scene reflects the expanded health of the borough's business district

As part of this expansion, the borough recently approved the creation of the Metuchen Downtown Alliance

METUCHEN - In another sign of the borough's ongoing business revitalization, an arcade is coming to the downtown area.

Chris Flynn and Moshe Atzbi, owners of Hailey’s Harp & Pub, are opening Hailey’s Harp-Cade, which is expected to make its debut in the late summer.

An active member of the community since opening in 2009 at its downtown location on Main Street, the pub has become a local watering hole where patrons can relax, watch a game and enjoy al fresco dining.

The idea for the expansion was conceived by Flynn after he discovered on social media that residents were interested in having an arcade in the borough. He approached property owner and Metuchen Downtown Alliance chairman, Eric Berger, about expanding his business to an adjoining property at 15 Station Place and the die was cast.

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“We’re excited about expanding the Hailey’s brand into an arcade business," Flynn said in a statement. "We continually look to stay attuned to the feedback of the community and look to push the envelope where we can. We intend to provide the same level of casual and fun experience as the pub offers and look forward to attracting families and patrons, young and old. The new venture will be open sometime during the summer and feature a variety of classic video and pinball machines."

The arcade also will feature retro cocktails, fun craft beers and a snack menu, Atzbi added.

"We're trying to fit about 30 games," he said. "We also want to do birthday parties. It will offer good, family fun."

Atzbi said the time is right for the expansion.

"Metuchen has been very good to us," he said. "Coming off the success of the biergarten that we did at the JuneBug Arts Festival, we realized the town is on the rise. There's a parking deck that has opened and new apartments are coming. We just feel we can offer more to the town. We have a lot of people coming to town and we want to keep them in town."

Arcades also are popular with millennials and others who are rediscovering the pleasures of a vibrant downtown.. Last year, YESTERcades opened in downtown Somerville, and the arcade on the pedestrian-friendly Division Street is regularly packed with gamers of all ages on weekday and weekend nights.

On the horizon

With Whole Foods and the Pearl Street Development already under construction and other businesses scheduled to open in the borough, the Borough Council has given approval to establish a special improvement district in the downtown area. With the help of the newly established Metuchen Downtown Alliance, the downtown area will be getting an added boost.

The Metuchen Downtown Alliance is a non-profit downtown management organization which focuses on promotion, design and economic revitalization of the designated central business district with the goal of making existing businesses more profitable; attracting new, complimentary businesses; and integrating the Whole Foods and Woodmont developments into the existing business community, according to a statement from the alliance.

"The timing is right for this," Berger said. "We want to help integrate the developments coming in, help the existing businesses to do better and draw in a more diverse group of businesses for vacant spaces."

The alliance also will be handling the programming for the new plaza, he said.

The concept of having downtown alliances dates back to the 1980s and the National Historic Trust, Berger said.

Several attempts were made in the past to bring the concept to Metuchen, but the most recent attempt was spearheaded by Council members Jay Muldoon and Allison Inserro in early 2015, he explained.

"They put together a stakeholder group in March of 2015," Berger said. "We spent an entire year plus talking with other Downtown Alliances to find out what works for them and what didn't work for them. We met with stakeholders within the community — property holders, businesses and residents. We held a number of forums for input. We presented our findings to the community on several occasions in early 2016."

Berger said a presentation was made to the council recommending the formation of a special improvement district in March. The ordinance was passed on May 2.

Funding the work

Commercial property owners and multi-family property owners with more than four units within the district will be assessed a special fee beginning in January to fund the operations of the Metuchen Downtown Alliance, the downtown management organization, Muldoon, an alliance board member said.

Funding also comes from the borough via the Parking Authority, he said.

"The borough contribution will decline as the assessment is phased in," Muldoon said.

The annual budget is $275,000 per year and will cover such things as a salary of the executive director, who has yet to be named, marketing, streetscape, capital improvements, maintenance/cleaning and recruiting/retention, officials said.

As a resident of the borough for 36 years, Muldoon said he has seen Main Street at its highs and lows.

"Overall I saw that it continued to struggle with the area malls, big box retailers and Internet shopping," he said. "There are so many challenges that Main Street retail businesses face and nothing was being done to support them. Since I've been on council, I've been advocating that in order for downtown Metuchen to better compete and thrive we need to professionally manage and market the area. The downtown is our most valuable asset, but we weren't investing in it. We researched and looked into the Main Street New Jersey organization. They have for the most part special improvement districts and a downtown management organization."

“The Metuchen Downtown Alliance is off to a great start and excited to help our existing and new businesses in support and development in our community," said Chris Crane, a board member and co-chair of the promotions committee. "We expect to see more interest and collaboration amongst the Metuchen community groups and our businesses in the future."

Muldoon said both Whole Foods and Woodmont are slated to open in 2017.

Information on the Metuchen Downtown Alliance is available at http://www.downtownmetuchen.org/

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 72-565-7243; sloyer@gannettnj.com