Elston Electric is an Illinois-based tavern housed in The Salt Shed, a concert venue in Chicago. With a family-friendly arcade featuring over a mix of 100 classic,  vintage, and modern games, patrons are promised good drinks, fun games, and a nice time.

The boiler-inspired venue boasts a full bar, a restaurant, and a space for private events. Its prize redemption shop showcases its curated selections of novelties and eccentricities.

Website: www.elstonelectric.com 

From running the coin-operated Logan Arcade for years, owner Zespy soon found a need for a card system to cater to a more diverse family entertainment centre crowd for his new venture Elston Electric—a system for guests of all ages, as opposed to his 21 and up patrons.

"As an old-school arcade, it's all quarters that we need to count every week. It also means we have to clear coin jams on the floor," explains Zespy. "And although coins fit the venue's aesthetic, I've been tempted by card systems in the past."

Meanwhile, more and more businesses around the Elston Electric complex operate cashless. "It made the most sense to be flexible, having special cards, being able to do VIP programmes, and pivoting and changing prices on the fly."

After assessing different cashless systems in the market, Zespy opted to go with the Embed Ecosystem of integrated hardware and software solutions.

"Embed's capability was there. It's a big company with a long track record for these good systems that continually get upgraded," says Zespy. "They're people I like interacting with, and I can get them on the phone. They've been great to work with."

"Embed upgraded all the time, and we got in just at the right time to get the newest readers. The integration with the POS and the redemption store gave us an all-in-one solution," he adds. 

With card readers, kiosks, and the Mobile Wallet virtual game card and mobile portal, Zespy eliminated manual labour and reporting—some downsides he had experienced in his coin-op arcade. "I'm very happy to have a card system, but on top of that, it's easier for the customer."

Solution Highlights:

• smartTOUCH+ card readers
• Kiosks with custom skins
• Mobile Wallet & Mobile Portal
• TOOLKIT
• GURU
• STATS

Guests can enjoy Elston Electric's offerings without leaving the game to get change. "Frankly, guests are spending more. The transactions are quick. Having the Embed card system, we see a higher spend per customer.  It's definitely higher than my other coin-op arcade," shares Zespy.

With the Embed cashless system's ease of use, Zespy found that instead of guests leaving his arcade with money they didn't spend, this extra cash stays in their game cards as value they can use when they return. "It's an ongoing relationship with the customer instead of one transaction."

Elston Electric can now mix nostalgia with the convenience of a next-gen cashless system—future-proofing the business with higher revenue, lower operational costs, and a seamless guest experience from strong customer loyalty.