The world sadly came into 2021 with COVID-19. In more upsetting news, Griffith entered the new year without Twincade. The arcade/bar had to close recently because the pandemic took a cut of the business. COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on our businesses this year, but thankfully Twincade was around at all, and that memories were made there before its close.

Twincade was an arcade/bar that was enjoyable for kids and teens during the day, and a party place for adults at night. A very welcoming and family-friendly place, kids were allowed inside until around 9:00 P.M. Twincade hosted multiple karaoke nights and children’s birthday parties on weekends, as well as game nights with old-style games including Dance Dance Revolution, different varieties of pinball, Ms. Pac-man, Donkey Kong, and many more. On Sunday’s, everyone was able to play the arcade games until their hearts desired. The barcade also sold a variety of different drinks and food, along with a vegan side of the menu. The staff also proved to be very friendly and wonderful with customer service.

Freshman Sara Oprisko said, “Twincade was always a nice place to go to in the winter when there was nothing else to do. It was very cheap and it didn’t cost you anything just to come in and hangout with friends.”

Twincade closed on the week of December 20th, 2020. There were many different theories on why the arcade shut down, but the real reason for this was due to COVID-19. Twincade closed due to the lack of money they were able to collect. The pandemic has caused everyone grief since its arrival and has ruined many opportunities, goals, jobs, families, and much more. COVID has been around for over a year now and has made this past year the worst for small businesses in the downtown area of Griffith.

The main thing that people will miss about Twincade is their old-school video games. The arcade housed some throwbacks that could make adults remember playing them as a child. Having these older games made the vibe at Twincade feel like it was from a different decade. The price to play a game was 1 quarter per each game you would want to play. Twincade will always be remembered for its multitude of old-school games, such as Mario Bros, X-Men, Pac-man, Frogger and quite a few more.

Hopefully, sometime in the future, we will have Twincade back in town. For now, it will be a memory to have of a formerly nice place to visit where you could have a good time. It brought smiles to many happy people in its building, and some could say it was their favorite place in town. We will always remember the memories some of us have made there, and hopefully someday the public can make many more memories there in the future.