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Asteroids, Centipede: West Dundee to welcome retro video arcade

It's game on for a retro arcade in West Dundee.

Monday night, trustees unanimously gave the green light for Scott Lambert to open his Underground Retrocade, which will feature 100 video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Among them are Centipede, Track & Field and Asteroids.

Lambert's goal is to open this weekend during Heritage Fest, which this year is being held in East and West Dundee. He hopes to draw fellow Gen X'ers and the younger crowd who are just beginning to discover classic video games.

“We have no reason to believe that this will not (be successful),” said Lambert, 45, an Addison native.

West Dundee trustees approved a special use permit for Lambert to operate downtown at 121 W. Main St.

The board also approved an economic incentive agreement that reduces the annual amount Lambert pays the village for every machine he operates.

The current rate of $135 per machine meant Lambert would fork over $13,500 a year, since he plans on running 100 machines.

But as a compromise, the village proposed Lambert pay an annual fee of $4,800, which the village will collect in quarterly installments.

Underground Retrocade was originally in East Dundee at 1 E. Main St. But Lambert closed it the end of May, pointing to the April storms that flooded the building's basement and damaged its roof.

In addition to video games, the arcade will feature pinball machines, console game systems ranging from the original Atari 2600 to the Xbox 360, and retro music from the 1980s.

Quarters aren't required for play there — $15 is enough to play for the whole day.

Officials said the arcade will give people another reason to patronize the downtown.

“We're really excited to work with him to get it established there,” Community Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko said. “We don't expect it to be a burden.”

West Dundee business to focus on retro video games

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