'Gastrocade' pairing dining and video games planned for downtown Mount Prospect
Mount Prospect is on the verge of getting its first “gastrocade.”
Vince Scalabrino, a digital marketer who grew up in Palatine, plans to open Tokens & Tankards — a combination restaurant and video game arcade — in the downtown space occupied for 46 years by Ye Olde Town Inn.
Scalabrino said a lease for the space is being finalized with landlord Tod Curtis, former owner of Ye Olde Town Inn. He hopes to open in September.
“I had my eye on Mount Prospect for a very long time,” said Scalabrino, who in his younger days often traveled to the village to visit the Games Plus store. “It was kind of a hangout for me when I was a kid.”
Curtis closed Ye Olde Town Inn, 18 W. Busse Ave., shortly after settling a lawsuit against the village for $6.5 million. The federal suit accused village officials of conspiring against Curtis to take his property for redevelopment efforts.
Scalabrino, who is working to obtain a liquor license, hire employees and finish a menu, said the demographics of Mount Prospect, and the restaurant's location near the Metra station, line up perfectly with his business plan.
He was quick to emphasize that Tokens & Tankards will not be a huge dining and entertainment complex like Dave and Buster's.
“That's really big. That's not us. We're 3,000 square feet,” he said. “The atmosphere at Tokens & Tankards is much more intimate and cozy. We're kind of going for a feeling of comfort. It's not fancy, but it's not bar food. It's somewhere between the two.”
The eatery will boast an extensive draft beer selection, mostly local brews, and feature arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s, he said.
Video games have been a lifelong passion for Scalabrino. He has fond memories of visiting the arcade at the old Town and Country mall in Arlington Heights, and later became a software developer and video game producer.
“That passion for video games stuck with me,” he said.
He also works with the charity Chicago Loot Drop, which brings together the region's gaming and “nerd” communities to do good around the Chicago area. One of its main beneficiaries is the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital.
Scalabrino said he was looking through available property listings when he saw that Curtis had closed Ye Olde Town Inn after more than 40 years of operation.
“I have always liked that property,” he said. “I was excited to have a landlord that knows restaurants,”
Mount Prospect officials also are excited about the plan's potential. Mayor Arlene Juracek said Tokens & Tankards could pair well with a possible new bar and restaurant in the nearby Blues Bar property.
“If we get both of those occupied, that's the old entertainment district that was proposed a number of years ago,” she said.