But just one month after the new business’ Feb. 9 grand reopening, Next Level Game Lounge also shuttered, though owner Austin Campbell has insinuated via social media the closure may not be permanent.
Campbell did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday.
Englewood city officials could not offer any additional details about the closure.
“The owner has not reached out to (the city),” said Development Director Bill Singer.
From the time Campbell acquired the center, located at 569 S. Main St. in Englewood, he shared regular updates on the business’ redevelopment via the NLGL Facebook page.
This is also where he announced March 10 that the business would be closed “until further notice.”
The post does not include reasons for the closure, nor details of when or if the business could reopen.
“We would love to share more information on our closure with you but at the moment it’s best that we hold off. We believe the community deserves open communication so we will release information as soon as we can once we work through a few things,” the post reads.
“We thank you so much for your support and kind words on our journey thus far,” it continues. “It has given us our motivation and our passion to keep working through any issues finding ways to make the business the best it could be.”
In an interview with Dayton Daily News late last year, Campbell shared that when he learned about the closure of the Englewood Fun Center, a place he frequented as a child, he felt compelled to step in.
“The place closed so abruptly in October and it was really shocking to the community,” he said in December. “I loved the arcade as a kid and, as a baseball player, I also went there for hitting practice at the batting cages.”
Campbell’s plans for the center included the addition of axe throwing, occasional food truck offerings, and a game trailer with various modern and retro gaming systems, from PS5, Xbox, and Switch, to Atari, Sega, and NES.
“We’re going to clean the place up and just make everyone feel like this is the place to be,” he said at the time.
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