Less than a year after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore, local arcade room owner Patti Hershey, Hershey’s Ice Cream and PrimeTime Amusements have now joined forces to design and build a high-end family-orientated arcade and ice cream shop.
With a “Dave and Buster’s” feel, the new location, which is scheduled to open in time for Memorial Day at the end of the month, replaces the family-run arcade that was damaged by the storm. The Hershey Creamery Company is not affiliated with Hershey’s Chocolate.
Having met the Hershey’s Ice Cream team at a New Jersey trade show, PrimeTime president David Goldfarb and his company helped formulate a plan to return international gaming and operations expertise to the Seaside Heights community and restore the Jersey Shore boardwalk to what it was before Sandy struck. Remarkably, the project took only a few months to complete.
“Seaside is a community of small, independent, often family-owned businesses and we are proud to be one of them,” said Tom Holder, vice president of sales for Hershey’s Creamery Company. “When approached by PrimeTime Amusements to partner and help bring this food and games concept to life right here on the Jersey Shore, we couldn’t wait to get started. In fact, what would usually take years to design, build and open, only took us three months because of the team’s enthusiasm.”
The ice cream portion of the business will be serviced by Hershey’s, while the arcade section of the facility will be run by PrimeTime.
“PrimeTime Amusements has been operating arcade game rooms for years, but never before has our effort had such a profound impact on the local community,” Goldfarb said. “As a south Florida-based company, we know how devastating hurricanes can be and we are just happy to help bring this deserving community back to life by bringing in a little fun and games.”
