Hybrid arcade and restaurant close to opening in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - For years, Chris Ellis dreamed of creating his own coin-operated gaming paradise.

'My wife and I were interested in opening an arcade for quite a while,” Ellis told us.

With his brewing background, he eventually saw the possibility of bringing that dream and his passion together under one roof.

'I've been in the brewing industry,” Ellis said. 'I've worked at Goose Island, I was a brewer at Millstream in the Amanas for a while, when it occurred to us, ‘hey why don't we just combine these ideas?'”

Ellis is almost ready to press start on The Quarter Barrel. Go to 616 Second Avenue Southeast - around late June, Ellis hopes - and you'll be able to grab a bite to eat, a cold brew, and a round of classic gaming.

'The sort of golden age, the ‘78 through ‘86-'87 games,” said Ellis. He hopes to squeeze in about 30 games, along with a small kitchen to focus on pizza.

'We're not going to be a dive bar,” Ellis told us. 'We're going to going to have good food, I've got a great chef lined up. A fun environment that's also got some class.”

Toward the back of the building, Ellis will set up his brewery. As brewmaster, he'll concentrate most of his efforts on lagers.

'The brewing equipment I bought is kind of set up special for lager brewing,” he said.

Throughout the build out process, Ellis has committed to preserving the historic elements of this space, trying to keep as much of the original brick and mortar intact as possible. He admits it doesn't look like much now, but later this summer The Quarter Barrel should be ready to take your order, and your loose change.

'Now that the concrete is poured, it's just going to be a matter putting up walls, which are already built.”

Ellis has started an online fundraising campaign to help him get the doors open at the Quarter Barrel. You can find it by clicking here.