The ALLPLaY Family Entertainment Center on Friendship Road in Waldoboro celebrated their grand opening on Jan. 14.
Although the bowling alley and arcade has been open since October, they wanted to make sure all the bugs were worked out before they started celebrating.
“It took about six weeks to get the machines working smoothly, and then Thanksgiving came around, and Christmas, and New Year’s, but things have been going really well and we’re excited to welcome everyone,” said Don Benson, who founded ALLPLaY with his wife.
For their grand opening, ALLPLaY gave everyone in attendance free bowling and served cake and donuts. Normally, bowling costs $2.25 per game.
The center is open seven days a week. Monday through Thursday they’re open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
ALLPLaY features candlepin bowling, several pool tables and an arcade. The arcade machines pay out in tickets, which can be redeemed for small prizes.
There is, however, one piece of disturbing news out of the arcade: the Ms. Pacman machine is actually a standard Pacman machine in disguise. It’s unclear exactly how it happened, but the shell of the machine is Ms. Pacman, and the game is standard Pacman.
No one was complaining at the grand opening, as patrons from 5 years old to “old enough to get Medicare” enjoyed free strings.
“If we can do it, it’s really for all ages,” Karen O’Bryan said. She was bowling with her friend Ann Pinkham. Both are retired schoolteachers from Damariscotta.
“Please don’t tell anyone we’re using the bumpers,” O’Bryan said.
Everyone in attendance seemed to have a good time, and Benson was optimistic about the future. He plans to open a chain of family entertainment centers in the Midcoast, and, someday, he’d like to open a much larger facility.
His vision of a family entertainment center is 50,000 to 60,000 square foot facility with bowling, indoor miniature golf, a climbing wall, a roller rink, and a batting cage.
“The Midcoast really needs something like that, and I’ll be sad if I’m not a part of it,” he said. “Those things have gone to the wayside. It might take a few years, but I can see it happening.”
Benson decided to found ALLPLaY after he was laid off a few years ago.
“I said, ‘That’s never going to happen again,'” Benson said.
After graduating from Camden/Rockland High School, Benson served in the Air Force in the morale welfare program, designing recreation programs for the troops. His wife worked in early childhood development. The two fields naturally came together to make ALLPLaY, Benson said.
As for the typography of the name, “it’s not just for big people, it’s for little people too,” Benson said. “That’s why we have the little ‘a’ in there.”