06/07/2026
2 cents From Evan:
I am usually very quiet where things are concerned on other businesses in the area but, with the recent announcements of PlayCenla and TopAxe closing, not far on the heels of the Starcade closure and all the buzz around the mall, I felt compelled to speak a little on it.
Being co-owner of Wayback's Arcade, I hate to see other family entertainment venues having to shut down. We have had to have that conversation a few times over the six years we have been around. There are times where customers just dont come -- but the bills never stop.
Even still, we have managed to weather the storm, even though closing the doors has been a very real possibility in the past.
We have tried our best to be as affordable as possible. Jeremy and I both have families of 5 and we know how expensive even just getting McDonald's can be. Because of this, we have resisted raising prices as much as possible. The average price for a freeplay arcade entry nationwide is now roughly $20 -25 per entry; we are still at $13.
We try and keep our food at least in line with chain pizza which is hard because not being a chain means we dont get those food cost benefits they do for buying in large quantities.
As an example, when we started 8-Bit Pizza, we were buying cheese at $85 per case; it is now $105 per case. That may not seem much but when you consider we buy hundreds of cases per year, it adds up quickly. And that's just the cheese!
Every topping has gone up in similar margins. Sauce, plates, chicken (don't even get me started on chicken). And thats just food costs. Yet, our pizza costs have remained the same for our customers.
We were just informed our lease will be going up as well. Simple every day parts like buttons, joysticks, power supplies... all the things that it takes for basic maintenance has doubled in price over the last six years.
This doesnt count specialty orders that come from deliberate damage caused by some customers, nor basic maintenance such as air conditing, taxes, labor costs, insurance. All of this has gone up.
In six years of business, our entry fee has only gone up by $1. We choose to try and absorb those costs as much as we can for as long as we can. We started out wanting to be the most affordable family entertainment in Central Louisiana, and I believe that we have been able to do so.
We hear a lot of, "we passed by and y'all's parking lot was full. Y'all must be doing great." It's true in the sense that people are enjoying the arcade, yes. And that's what we always wanted. But in the sense that we are making a fortune? That's just not the case.
No one at Wayback's has ever made minimum wage. We have always tried to be as fair as we possibly could when it comes to our employees because they are the front-line keeping Wayback's clean, friendly, and fun with a side of tasty food.
People tend to not consider that we are a small local business that depends on local people to keep coming in order to keep the lights on and our crews' paychecks coming every week. We unfortunately dont have the luxury of having hundreds of locations and large corporate bank accounts that the interest rates alone pay for operations.
I have read a lot lately in comments from businesses closing all the things people WANT or THINK should go in their spot to replace them. I see a lot of Dave & Busters, Chic-Fil-A, Wingstop, Surge Center... and it honestly breaks my heart.
Money is tight for everyone right now. A trip to Dave and Busters, Surge Center or Chuck E Cheese easily turns into hundreds of dollars. What's sad is, those are the sorts of places that can weather storms just fine if no one shows up that week. They are also the places worried about population numbers, demographics, income areas, etc before they invest in a location. We are just data points to them.
The money they make isn't being spent in the communities they are in other than employees paychecks and local taxes. The rest goes off to bigger cities or bank accounts to accrue interest. Its the local mom and pop businesses that invest here, buy here, and spend here. This is who we should strive to support -- the locals.
I hear a lot lately that there's nothing for kids. There's nothing to do. Nothing good ever stays in Cenla. These comments are so disheartening to those of us who strive every day to bring exactly that to our area. We are here and we will keep trying the best we can because for all of those comments, there are so many more that we get of encouragement, of collaboration, of gratitude and pure happiness. That's why we keep going.
I have seen in comments lately also laying blame that these small businesses didnt advertise enough. They needed to go on radio, on TV, on billboards. Look, we have been down that path as well. The price of advertising is insane, and when you are worried about making sure everyone gets paid, the bills are paid, the insurance, the taxes, lease etc, etc, then honestly, advertisements are at the end of the line.
Yet, we have bought advertising in hopes that it would help. Multiple TV adds on different stations. Several radio stations, ballfield signs, school flyers. You name it, we have tried it and let me tell you, after six years we still have people all the time say, "I never knew there was an arcade in town."
It's not for a lack of trying every avenue to get the word out. It's a matter of having spare revenue to even consider advertising here and there. Even when we have though, we haven't really seen any differences that it has made. I'm not sure what the answer or magic combination is, but we still try our very best each and every day.
All this to say, maybe instead of hoping for a Dave and Busters, maybe try the local arcade. Instead of hoping for a Wingstop, try the local wing places. I'll put our wings up against anyone in town. Maybe instead of hoping for a Surge Center, try the local zip line or trampoline place. Instead of ordering that cake from Walmart, try a local bakery. Maybe if everyone tried to find the LOCAL option FIRST, I bet we would have more options in our area because they would be able to stay around.
You may be surprised just how much you enjoy the local option over the corporate one. If everyone would take pride in our area then others may try to improve upon it. Let us be the change we want to see and have yearned for all our lives.
