Chuck E. Cheese for a 'kidult' audience

Chuck's Arcade may not have pizza, but it has retro gaming and claw machines galore.

- BY TODD MARTENS

ARMANDO ARIZMENDI blasts virtual Nerf darts at Chuck's Arcade, a new gaming space at the Brea Mall.

Chuck E. Cheese is all grownup. Sort of.

Brea Mall is now home to a Chuck’s Arcade, the first location in California and 10th in the U.S. When the company unveiled the concept earlier this year, headlines branded it as an “adult” Chuck E. Cheese. There's some truth in that, but it’s not the full story.

Combine the word “adult” and “arcade” and recognizable spaces — say, Dave & Buster's — instantly come to mind. Here in So-Cal, we also have Two Bit Circus in Santa Monica, which marries retro and modern games with beer and cocktails. Chuck’s Arcade isn’t all that similar to either.

But we were intrigued by its promise of retro gaming and its attempts to appeal to a less kid-focused audience. You won't, for instance, encounter a pizza party full of 7-year-olds here.

So what will you find? And will it possess the vintage arcade vibes many of us are craving? With the company and its mouse mascot now a cool 48 years old, we weren't sure what to expect. So we took a visit to Chuck’s Arcade seeking answers.

FOR THE KID IN ALL OF US, OR THE 'KIDULT'?

It’s not surprising to encounter a grownup with fond memories of Chuck E. Cheese. For me, I was hooked by the stilted-yet-charming robotic performances from their once ubiquitous animatronic bands, in which tunes were delivered amid the clickety-clack of machinery. Yet a Chuck E. Cheese today is a fully-realized kid-focused video-game-inspired rec room, one where digital floors encourage a more active form of play. David McKillips, president and chief executive of the company, says the firm’s core locations heavily target those between the ages of 3 and 8.