Video games and pinball machines have taken the place of guitars and drums at a former Downtown music venue.
The Circuit Arcade Bar is set for an April 12 grand opening in the space once occupied by 1904 Music Hall at 19 N. Ocean St.
Co-owner Jason Hunnicutt said the new concept replaces the Ocean Street Tequila bar, which he and his partner opened in the space after closing the music hall in 2023.
Circuit Arcade Bar is not part of Barcade, a chain of arcade bars operating since 2004 with locations in six states.
“It wasn’t really utilizing the space as much as we wanted to,” Hunnicutt said of the tequila bar, “so the ‘Barcade’ concept kind of came to us last year and we said, ‘You know what, let’s do it. Let’s pull the trigger.’”
The 2,600-square-foot space now offers a mix of 30 new and retro games, including throwback pinball machines, refurbished retro video games such as Mortal Kombat, electronic dart boards and analog arcade games such as air hockey, foosball, Skee-Ball, and “bubble” hockey, in which players use mechanical rods to control players on a surface covered by a plexiglass canopy.
The games aren’t free to play, so bring quarters or small bills.
Hunnicutt, who was born in 1984, said he wanted the establishment to feel like “Aladdin’s Castle with a bar,” referring to the chain of mall arcades popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
Hunnicutt said The Circuit has been operating for three weeks in soft opening mode. Hours are noon to 1 a.m.
The building is sandwiched by Spliff’s Gastropub and Ocean Street Tacos, both of which are operated by Hunnicutt and his business partner. Hunnicutt said patrons of The Circuit are welcome to purchase food at either establishment and bring it to the arcade bar.
The Circuit will serve a full line of liquor drinks plus draft beers, mocktails, nonalcoholic beers and THC drinks along with soft drinks.
On the soft opening menu, prices for house cocktails range from $9 to $12, with mocktails priced at $9 and nonalcoholic beers and THC drinks at $5 to $9.
“Obviously, a big thing now is that people are being healthy and trying not to drink as much, so we have a selection of nonalcoholic spirits,” he said. “The nonalcoholic beers are becoming more popular. The flavors are getting better. And then the THC drinks are another popular beverage. We’ve carried them at Spliff’s for the last year, and kind of saw their popularity ticking up.”
Hunnicutt said the build-out for the new concept was done at minimal cost, with a vendor supplying the games. Interior items such as the sound system and a DJ booth were held over from 1904 Music Hall and the tequila bar. He said the partners looked into obtaining incentives for the project through the Downtown Investment Authority, but decided they weren’t needed.
Hunnicutt described the music hall as a casualty of the pandemic. He and his partner also own Underbelly, a larger music venue nearby on Bay Street, and found they were competing against themselves at a time when a wave of smaller music venues closed across the country.
The Circuit joins a roster of other arcade bars in Jacksonville, including Keg & Coin and Dart Bar and Games along King Street in Riverside and LeaderBoard Arcade, Bar & Pizzeria in Mandarin.
Hunnicutt said The Circuit would also be available for corporate events and group events such as retro nights.