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The hot stove may be cold for Chicago Cubs fans with the rest of the frigid city, but at least there’s some good news for Wrigleyville. The owners of the Lucky Strike will soon bring video games, an eight-lane bowling alley, and booze to the baseball stadium’s neighborhood. Lucky Strike Social should open in mid- to late-February at 1027 W. Addison Street, according to a spokesperson. That’s the $140 million Addison and Clark complex south of Wrigley Field.
The project includes more than 100 games across 30,000 square feet. The set up appears similar to the Streeterville location. In 2015, Lucky Strike in Streeterville added more video games and a bar through its FTW expansion. Lucky Strike serves an elevated bar food menu with burgers, andouille-stuffed mushrooms, Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, and an arsenal of sliders. A spokesperson said Lucky Strike Social is a slightly different concept than a normal Lucky Strike, but those differences aren’t immediately apparent.
Most arcades feature machines that dispense paper tickets that customers can earn and exchange them for prizes that would probably cost much less at a retail store. But it’s the thrill of the achievement that drives players. Instead of keeping tracking of the paper tickets or metal tokens, Lucky Strike Social will have an electronic ticket system using cards.
It sometimes takes a lot to persuade dedicated video gamers to leave their home consoles and venture out. One way is giving them a rare chance to play an exclusive machine. Lucky Strike hopes to lure customers with Daytona Championship USA Motion SDLX, the next iteration of the popular Sega racing series.
The location also includes two private party rooms and 56-foot bar. There’s also four 82-inch 4K televisions and two 12-foot by 7-foot LED video walls surrounding the bar area. That might come in handy for watching the Cubs.
With Wrigleyville, Lucky Strike counts 20 locations in the U.S., though 25 are listed on the website. They also have another baseball-related location in Boston near Fenway Park. Wrigleyville may have lost a Taco Bell in the offseason, but at least Lucky Strike Social gives the neighborhood a big-time chain addition.
