Entertainment centre Game On opens in former Snooker and Sports Bar on Sittingbourne High Street
A £20,000 family entertainment centre has opened in a former snooker club.
Jordan Dutton, who runs Game On in Sittingbourne High Street, says it is a much-needed facility for the community.
“Our end goal was always to make this a place where mums, dads and kids can come and have a good time,” he explained.
“Sittingbourne at the moment doesn’t have anything like crazy golf so we are bringing something new to the town.
“It is a lot of money to invest but it’ll be something that people will really enjoy."
Game On opened to the public on Tuesday (September 23).
Before its launch, KentOnline got a sneak peek at what was on offer, including an 18-hole neon crazy golf, pool room, darts and a bar.
Nine of the holes are traditional, but the rest are “crazy pool” – which follows the same concept but uses a table with a hole where players use a pool cue rather than a put.
A new arcade space has been set up, which has traditional 2p machines as well as retro Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
It will also feature a console room with Xboxes and PlayStations.
The centre is above Kaspa’s and opposite the New Century Cinema.
It was taken over by the 33-year-old in August, alongside business partner Shane Beale, who will be running the front of house.
Shane said: “People looked at him like he was mad and I was one of them initially.
“I’m very honoured to be part of this and hopefully it will bring a different variety of people now, especially families and youths.
“None of this would be possible without this man's vision and ideas.”
Renovations have taken just over a month to complete, with the pair investing £20,000 into the premises.
They say the hardest part was stripping everything back and removing more than 150 sofas and 40 beds in the former furniture store.
Jordan said: “It was ridiculous! That was the biggest struggle, getting rid of all the stock.
“The Gillingham Street Angels charity came and picked up eight van loads.
“Once that was done, the building work was pretty easy because we already had the logistics of how we wanted it anyway.”
He added: “We reclaim a lot and all our timber is second-hand. It takes up more time, but it's worth it.
“I’ve been part of everything. From start to finish.”
“It's been a rollercoaster – it took us a while, but we're finally here now. I can see the finish line, so that's good.”
Jordan also owns the Four Horseshoes pub in Graveney, near Faversham and has been in the hospitality industry all his life.
He always wanted to run his own arcade and after being encouraged by his three younger daughters, decided to make the idea a reality.
The site dates back to the 1820s and for more than 150 years it was known as Hulburd’s.
It was a popular department store in the town before it closed in 1988.
For several years, the site was known as the Sittingbourne Snooker and Sports Bar.
In October 2017, it opened as a 315-capacity nightclub under new management and was called Platinum Bar.
A members-only snooker club remained on the floor above. The venue had a troubled past with incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour.
Shaun had been going to the bar from a young age and always enjoyed playing darts and pool with his friends.
He said: “It has had a lot of negativity but I’ve always had a positive experience with the place.
“I’ve been reminiscing – I love it here.”
Jordan and Shaun have also been speaking to police and plan to offer the space every week for a youth club.
They aim to give back to the community and help reduce antisocial behaviour by giving children a place to hang out.
Game On is open seven days a week from 3pm until 9pm. Earlybird membership is £15 for 15 months and £5 for a day entry, which includes a game of crazy golf.
For the moment it is only available for 18s and over, due to licensing restrictions.
Next month, the pair hope to have this changed so that between 10am and 4pm, no alcohol will be served and it will be for families and children.
More information can be found on their Facebook page.
