Changes have come to the Energyplex at McCurdy Place to make it as much fun for adults as it is for kids.
The trampoline area has been replaced by an arcade and a bar.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down in March of 2020, Kelowna’s Energyplex was one business forced to closed. A staple for kids birthday parties and fun and games, owners and husband and wife team Erik and Caro Brouwer wanted to make changes and had to make some decisions.
Despite losing money during the pandemic, it almost occurred at the right time for the establishment - at the same time, the Brouwer’s had to make a decision if they wanted to commit to another year of the rising insurance cost for the trampoline area. They decided not to because the business had to be shut down anyways, and started to brainstorm ideas on what to do next.
The Energyplex has been the Brouwer’s whole life since they moved to Kelowna from the Netherlands back in 2011. They got jobs there right after the move, and within two years became the owners.
After years of growing numbers and making upgrades, the pandemic set things in perspective for the Brouwer’s with everything up in the air, though they had a vision of how they wanted to make their next changes.
The vision was to take the trampoline area on the east side of the building and turn it into an arcade for all ages, as well as a bar for adults to enjoy while their kids have fun with the many other options available to them. With the help of a government grant from the pandemic, the idea of the bar and arcade became a reality.
“We want to make it like Dave and Buster’s,” Erik told Capital News.
While two of Erik’s daughters also work at Energyplex, his son Kevin and his girlfriend Jessie helped assemble the bar area. With both of them being long-time employees in the restaurant industry, they used their knowledge of the bar and restaurant industry to help with the bar’s vision.
The bar doesn’t have an official name but Erik likes to call it ‘The Lazy Lounge’ because the adults get to relax and take a break during their time there. One of the things that was really important to the family when putting the bar together was to have everything they could be local. On their drink menu, they feature beers, wines, and ciders from many different establishments not just from Kelowna, but from around the Okanagan.
For now, the bar’s food menu just features a few different types of pizzas but they plan to expand it as time goes on. They are also looking at kitchen upgrades to be able to serve more options.
While they started to put the idea together in 2020, it took over a year to finish mainly because of supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.
With the changes, they will be expanding their weekend hours for the summer to 10 p.m.
On top of the new bar and arcade, the facility offers lazer tag, a rock wall, the energy cube, ballistix, skytrax and much more. Erik said on average, they host 30 kids birthday parties every weekend.
With the new bar and arcade, come new opportunities. Energyplex is looking to hire staff for their facility including bartenders, waiters, and much more. If interested, click here.
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