Video Transcript

Joe Ardiri- “We kind of went around for 3-4 years actually researching it. You know we are coming from a traditional bowling center for 35 years to, you know, going into this new phase with the gaming and laser tag. Its been fun and exciting for us. But you know in these times, we can’t wait to open the doors and get going. A lot of great feedback we had.”

Mike Ewald- “Firstly, when did Hi-Tor lanes open up originally?”

Joe- “1957.”

Mike- “Okay, so you guys have been around a very long time. Was it roughly the same footprint that it is now?”

Joe- “More or less. Yeah. We made some changes around 1995 on the inside. But the footprint is pretty much what it was.”

Mike- “How long have you been managing the Hi-Tor Lanes?”

Joe- “Since 88’ we’ve been here. It’s two families. My family and the Varanos. We’ve been here since 88’ together as partners. We’ve been around for awhile.”

Mike- “Thats the year I was born. Wow, so yeah that puts that into perspective.”

Joe- “Haha, I wish I could say the same.”

Mike- “What kind of prompted you to do this latest renovation? What made you decide you really needed to do something?”

Joe- “Well I guess just the time. Its been that way I’d say for at least a good 10 years. We saw the steady decline. Peoples interest have been, you know, you have to be a little bit over the top to get people out and doing stuff. We did see the writing on the wall for some years. We did speak to alot of bowling centers that actually stayed in business and what they were doing right. You know the majority of them had gone down this road. Turned their traditional centers into FEC centers and added more attractions for people.”

Mike- “ Right. I agree with you. I think people still like to bowl. But there aren’t as many serious bowlers. More casual bowlers that just want to come and have a good time with drinks and games as well.”

Joe- “Yeah, and those casual bowlers tend to spend more money than the weekly bowlers. Even if they are only coming in twice a month, they are spending over and above what a typical league bowler generally spends on a weekly basis.”

Mike- “Yeah, I’ve heard some stories from other clients that have renovated traditional bowling centers. Where the league bowlers came in. They didn’t so much as mind the new area for the FEC, but they complained about the coffee going from $1.00 to $2.00.”

Joe- “ You know, and thats something where moving forward we had to make some changes with traditional bowling. One thing is space. We had a lot of bowling lockers here and storage lockers for equipment. It used up alot of wall space. That wall space-moving forward with the game room, arcade, and laser system. That space was really what we could use bring in higher revenue.”

Mike- “When did you know that laser tag had to be apart of your renovation? Was that pretty early in the process?”

Joe- “I’ll be honest with you. My partner Rob and I at first we really weren’t into the laser tag stuff. When we went and visited Amusement 360, that was our first real introduction to it. We visited some of these places with two stories, that second mezzanine level. That kind of blew us away. We’ve never seen anything like that in our area. Everything was basically one floor and not all that exciting. But adding that second level, and how they built the arenas around these systems were really incredible. We were blown away then and hooked. We saw the potential”

Mike- “You said you’ve been working on this project a long time. How long did it take from when you first started considering it until it was finished. I realized there probably still some signage going up. But, you’re pretty well finished at this point.”

Joe- “ I would say in all honesty we’ve been working on this close to 4 years. We started introducing and getting some feedback first from the town and officials. Kind of threw it out there that this is something we were thinking about. Obviously they were kind of on board for bringing that into our area. They were really excited about that. But that excitement and actually getting the approvals was a big process in between. It took us probably a year of going in front of the board and town to get approvals for everything right off the bat. Probably took just as long to get a mortgage and a loan from the bank to help us with that. Yeah, it’s been a process.”

Mike- “ Did the vision change dramatically or has it stayed pretty consistent throughout those last few years? I know you said you considered laser tag year one in the process. After that point has it been forward progress?”

Joe- “It really has been. Other than this latest blip on the screen for all of us. Yeah it has been pretty consistent. Once we did our research, we had our vision and we stayed true to that.”

Mike- “What appealed to you about the themed arena VS the other options out there. The tubes and barrels.”

Joe- “ The tubes and barrels, that was pretty much the first one that we looked at. You know its in the New York area. We had looked at that but didn’t like it right off the bat. Until we started to see some of the themed arenas. That’s something that grabbed us. We learned a lot throughout the process. We originally thought having a kind of lost statue of liberty knocked down and stuff like that. Then we learned through the process by, you know going to a lot of these conventions, we had to keep the kids in mind. A lot of the themes we thought about were going to scare our customers. So we kind of scaled back a little bit on our theme. Creative Works worked well with us throughout the process. There were a lot of great companies we were looking at. Each company had their own thing that they offered. Ultimately we ended up going with Creative Works for the theming.”

Mike- “ You ended up with a junk yard theme. Is there any special significance to that for you or the area? And was there a particular age group that you had in mind, that you were going after?”

Joe- “I think it was just more of something that we liked. They only did other place with a junk yard theme that we kind of liked and we gravitated towards that. And then paying homage. We are changing the name of the bowling center here. Hi-Tor Lanes was the name of our center. It still is now but we are changing it to Break-Point Bowl and Entertainment. But Hi-Tor had a lot of meaning with us and with the county so in the junkyard theme we paid homage to Hi-Tor and put the name inside the laser tag arena and stuff like that. Pay some tribute.”

Mike- “Hi-Tor is the state park nearby right?”

Joe- “Yeah, it’s a state park and it’s the name of the mountains that are here in the north rockman area. Hi-Tor Mountains is what it’s named after.”

Mike- “I noticed there were some pretty cool props in there. What’s the story behind the classic chevy car prop. Was that just a cool thing? Or was there some significance?”

Joe- “Yeah it was just a cool thing that they introduced. And then when we saw the prop we really liked it. Especially in our area here. There’s a lot of people here into cars and all that. So we thought that would be a cool addition This is my partner Rob.”

Rob- “Whats going on Mike?”

Mike- “I’m doing alright. Ha ha. Were there any of the other props that had a special significance or was it just really cool stuff. Like the street lights, the claw in the center and the burn barrels.”

Joe- “Yeah, well we went back and forth with Creative Works and picked out some props we liked from the other junk yard theme. The biggest thing for us was the Hi-Tor signage in there and having the street lights on. We wanted to lock that up for us with the name did mean something. We really wrestled over that a bit and changing the name.”

Mike- “So you guys did have a lot of interactive effects. Both provided by Creative Works and provided by us. What made you realize that you needed to include a lot of special effects inside the arena.”

Joe- “I think you have to be over the top and include a lot of stuff to be interactive with the guests. I think just to drag people out of the house and off the phone is the biggest challenge for us. When they came in we wanted to have that WOW effect for them. I think it does tie in. The little bit we’ve shown off to our customers. You know, I think they’ve been more than blown away by the arena and everything.”

Mike- “ It’s definitely the most impressive arena I’ve seen in a very long time. In fact, I can’t even think of one that’s an overall better design. With effects and everything else. So you ultimately towards the end of the project decided to add the Projector Target and the Smart Mission Briefing. How excited do you think your guests will be to fight against some life-sized themed opponents.”

Joe- “I think its going to be awesome. You know, when you first told me about it I spoke to Rob and I’m like ‘I don’t care what we do, thats one thing I want to add.’ We were definitely happy to add that. I think it brings another dimension for kids or really any adult. A couple of my team members came in just to check out the laser tag system and they were really stoked about it.”

Mike- “Why did you feel it was important to add live arena footage to the exterior facade? We provided the 4 camera system for you.”

Joe- “Theres so much going on outside with the arcade area and see that. You know it creates that buzz. Even outside the arena people can see what’s going on. I think it brings that to the fore-front when you are in the game room or the arcade room. Pulls them in and entices them a little bit more.”

Mike- “So yeah, maybe they will go and spend that upsell and go add a laser tag if they were just in the arcade. Probably also helps, I think, with parents to feel comfortable letting their children inside. They can see whats going on. They are not just going in to some super dark dangerous room where anything could happen.”

Joe- “Right. Absolutely. I think that’s just an added benefit.”

Mike- “One question that I already asked Joe, but you may have a different answer. Was there any special significance to the junkyard theme? Or any of the props in there? Like the chevy, the claw, the street lights, the burn barrels or any of that?

Rob- “They kind of just did that on their own. I have to say I’m definitely happy with the arena they put together. More so than I ever thought. We originally were going to go with an escape from New York theme. We weren’t sure which route we were going to go with.Then we spoke to Athena and she had mentioned catering more to kids than scaring the kids. I was kind of afraid that if we put some Zombies in there or some kind of spacecraft that the kid may be afraid. The junkyard theme can hit an adult and capture a kids mind. It’s a very friendly environment. You saw it. I thought it was pretty good.”

Mike- “I thought it did a good job of not being so kiddy that an adult feels weird being in there. But also not being super frightening. A tough balance to strike and I think it did a good job of that. What are the biggest reasons you chose to work with Laserblast?”

Rob- “We loved your family. We thought you guys were down to earth and honest. You know we definitely shopped around with a few other companies. When Joe and I met you I think at IAAPA.”

Mike- “2017”

Rob- “That was 2017? Oh my god. Soon as we left your booth we both looked at each other and says you know, we like this company. The fact that you guys keep up with all the newest additions to your laser tag equipment. Keep it up to the times more or less. Meeting with your Dad, Mom, and you. We kind of stuck with you guys from the get go. Although with a lot of the other companies we went from one to another. Shopped back and forth. But with you guys really, you were the only people we talked with to be honest with you. Your price was competitive from what I gather I think your laser tag equipment is pretty competitive. I don’t believe you guys have licensing fees. A lot of people have licensing fees which you guys don’t have. Your customer service. You stress if we ever have a problem we can call you. I got your cell phone. I can call you directly. Your the owner of the company. I mean not many people when something is wrong you can speak to the owner of the company. That to me, means a lot. If I have a problem I can call you or even Dusten gave me his cell number and he seemed very knowledgeable too. Which that, I like that. That means a lot to me. Those are some of the reasons we stuck with you guys”