Is it game over for proposed arcade in Wheeling?
A plan to open a video game arcade in a Wheeling shopping center has been unplugged by the prospective operator.
Northbrook-area entrepreneur Udey Kumra had proposed launching the Headless Horseman in a vacant storefront at 82 E. Dundee Road. Kumra needed a special-use permit from the village to operate.
But at the start of Monday's village board meeting, Village Manager Jon Sfondilis announced Kumra was withdrawing his request for a permit. Sfondilis didn't say why.
In an interview Thursday, Kumra said the property's landlord decided to offer the space to a tenant with a business that didn't require a costly sprinkler system to be installed.
Kumra said he's looking for a new location in Wheeling for the arcade. Village officials also are working to find other possible sites, Sfondilis said.
The Headless Horseman would put a spin on the arcade business model. Instead of requiring players to feed handfuls of quarters into machines or use prepaid cards loaded with game credits, patrons would be charged a flat $20 one-day entry fee for unlimited game play.
The storefront being eyed for the business has been vacant about three years, village officials said. It last was a NAPA Auto Parts store.