Scary Strokes, located in Waldorf, MD, is the passion project of husband-wife duo Doug and LaNeta Roth. This 11,000 square-foot family entertainment center offers the ultimate entertainment experience for the entire family at affordable prices, with attractions including 18-hole blacklight mini-golf, a virtual reality Omni arena, arcade, prize redemption center, and full-service Graveyard Grill. 

FaceBook: @ScaryStrokes

Like many in the industry, Scary Strokes was not immune to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced to close for three months, Scary Strokes recently reopened their doors on June 19, looking to revitalize their FEC in a post-pandemic environment.

Before the pandemic, one of Scary Strokes’ ongoing challenges was increasing their brand awareness. Both Doug and LaNeta have full-time jobs in addition to owning Scary Strokes, which is nearing its third anniversary. Leading up to the quarantine period and mandated closing of their business, Scary Strokes was booming. “We had the feeling of finally being established, people knowing about us, and then the walls came crashing down,” Roth told us. “It’s been a hard transition because now we feel like we’re starting from square one to a certain extent.”

Since they are a small mom-and-pop family entertainment center, Scary Strokes had to get creative to maintain guest engagement and prepare for a successful and safe reopening.

Taking to Facebook Live, Roth engaged with his guests during the quarantine period by doing social media shout-outs, playing games for prizes the guests could redeem when Scary Strokes reopened.

Additionally, Scary Strokes took advantage of Embed’s free marketing toolkits to aid in communicating the measures taken to reopen safely. “It is just my wife and me, we don’t have a marketing team,” Roth said. “So, when Embed offered the toolkits, it was really helpful because it gave us ideas, or I could simply copy, paste, and post the material.”

When Scary Strokes reopened their doors on June 19, few changes were made to their already extensive cleaning regime. The addition of sanitizing stations and required masks, coupled with rearranging the game room and dining areas, allowed Scary Strokes to ensure physical distancing requirements were met while still providing the ultimate family entertainment experience.

The changing landscape of the post-pandemic times reaffirmed Scary Strokes’ decision to go cashless from the beginning. “When Embed introduced the Mobile Wallet, it seemed like a good opportunity for us to jump in and see what it was all about,” said Roth. “There’s nothing not to like about it. It’s clever and very convenient; you don’t have to visit a kiosk or a staff member, you do everything from the comfort of your phone.”

The Mobile Wallet is a virtual game card that is added to the Apple Wallet and Google Pay wallets in the mobile phone, giving customers a fully contact-free payment and FEC experience. Guests have immediate access to their balance information, ticket counts, and more.

Solution Highlights:

• 39 smartTOUCH Readers
• 1 emONE Kiosk
• 2 Point-of-Sale Stations
• Redemption Station
• BOOKINGS
• Mobile Wallet

60% of Normal Business After 3-Month Closure

The community has responded positively to all of the measures implemented in Scary Strokes’ reopening. Roth added, “We reopened in the middle of the week, and we got a call for a birthday party that Saturday. They were delighted that we had reopened and were able to facilitate the party safely.” 

Summer is usually the busiest time of the year for Scary Strokes, but this summer has been anything but typical. Although July and August were good months for Scary Strokes, they are seeing about 60% of their normal revenue, a number that Roth says is trending upwards. “From the reports I’ve seen in the industry, we’re right on pace with everyone else,” explained Roth. “The trend continues to move up, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

With so many FEC’s permanently closed, Scary Strokes has proven that tough times never last, but tough people do. “We have an outstanding staff and a great support system, whether it’s Embed or our other vendors, that have really helped us get started, through the pandemic, and to where we are now,” added Roth.

Some of our results:

• 60% normal revenue after 3-month closure