In the same place, people can watch a game, throw darts or axes at a digital wall, get strapped into a virtual reality game or practice their golf game.
And that’s not even touching the special events, like video game tournaments and cookie-designing classes, that Vibe-In hosts with other parts of the community.
Prince Singh, the owner of Vibe-In, opened the arcade in March, but the idea existed years before it. He grew up in Visalia as part of a very business-minded family and watched his parents, uncles and aunts build and run different companies.
Singh also helped at some of those companies, which gave him a solid idea of what he didn’t want to do with his life.
“I was kinda burnt out with the gas station,” Singh said. “I wanted something different.”
He spent a couple of years trying to develop a hotel on some property his parents own before realizing that because of county, fire department and highway regulations, building a hotel there wasn’t feasible.
Singh also picked up some experience working for his uncles, who operated their own Chuck E. Cheese locations.
The decision to open his own space came from spending time with his friends. They knew they wanted to go somewhere and do something while hanging out, but had a lack of ideas on where to go and what to do.
The space that turned into Vibe-In needed plenty of attention before Singh could open it. He went across the parking lot to target and picked out tape, and started taping shapes on the floor where he wanted everything to be. Singh and his fiancé put together the VR room themselves.
“I’ve put a lot of hours into this place,” Singh said.
Several people enjoying the space at Vibe-In were accountants from MBS Accounting. They’d just finished with work related to the Oct. 15 tax deadline, and four of the accountants were relaxing by throwing ‘darts’ at a digital wall. The darts weren’t actually sharp and were closer to balls thrown at carnival rides.
The rest of their colleagues were only a stall over, hitting golf balls at a different digital wall.
Nicole Pardo, one of the accountants, was among those throwing darts.
“It’s nice to see people outside of work,” Pardo said.
Later on in the evening, more than a dozen members of the Fresno State Esports team also filed in, most dressed up for Halloween. Nathan Jack Luna, the president of the Fresno State Fighting Game Club and a member of the Esports team, helped set up some of the TVs to play Super Smash Bros for a tournament Vibe-In was hosting.
Singh went around setting up other TVs and checking in on the tournament and other guests. Even with his experience helping and working with other family members, he’s had to get used to learning a lot about running a business on the fly.
“I feel like I’ve been bored for a long time,” Singh said. “I’m not bored anymore.”
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Amber Hair (they/them) is the food and restaurants reporter and influencer. Amber has been in professional journalism for more than a decade, writing for outlets like the Orlando Sentinel, The Villages Daily Sun, the Pacific Coast Business Times and others. In their spare time, they enjoy going to concerts, reading and spending time with their cats.