Gursagar Singh has played his fair share of arcade games this past month.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at these things. I’ve probably set all the records in here,” said Singh.
The 20-year-old is in the driver’s seat both at the top of the scoreboard and in his career. Step into Singh’s Arcade in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
“I just wanted to do something where I could just be creative. So I felt like having a place where I could be creative was an advantage to my life,” said Singh.
The John Abbott College alum was walking by the once-empty storefront, which he now owns, when he thought that maybe an arcade would work.
“And I felt like there was just nothing to do. So I was like, let’s make something to do,” said Singh.
Since opening on Labour Day weekend, most of his clientele are local CEGEP students.
“We’re very lucky to have it, there’s not much to kind of do activity-wise around here except, like, going by the water,” said John Abbott student Marcello Mattia.
Singh is reimagining arcades from his childhood by choosing games that spark friendly competition, and serving cereal milkshakes, using his sister’s recipes.
“I felt like we need to do something unique to make it our own. So we really focused on the experience,” said Singh.
No pocket change is needed at Singh’s arcade, each game is controlled by a pre-paid arcade card.
“The only arcades I’ve ever been to were the ones in the movie theatre. But I don’t know, I find this environment better,” said John Abbott student Dylan Koszycki.
The community space will also feature local artists and artisans each month.
“We want to be a space where we support them. Sometimes, a videographer may come to me and they have an idea, right? And if we really love the idea, we will produce it,” said Singh.
Singh plans to keep adding vintage games to his collection, with the hopes more people contend for his scores at the top of the leaderboard.