NoDa arcade bar now slated to open this summer | Charlotte Observer

Abari, Charlotte’s first arcade bar, is now slated to open sometime this summer, thanks to delays with city approvals, the bar’s owner Zach Pulliam said.

The original plan had been for a mid- to late-April opening for the NoDa bar at 1721 North Davidson, between NoDa Brewing and Birdsong Brewing. Everything is “good to go” except for zoning approval, which has been pending since April, Pulliam said.

“Things have been moving slowly and it is very frustrating,” Pulliam wrote in an email to the Observer.

Abari will have arcade games from the 1970s through the late 1990s, Pulliam said, and from a handful of categories like fighting and racing to classics like Donkey Kong. The bar will offer locally made beers from breweries like NoDa, Birdsong, Unknown and Old Meck.

Abari won’t serve food but will allow customers to bring their own. According to its Facebook page, the bar will also offer bookings for private events outside its normal hours of operation, which will be 5 p.m.-2 a.m. weekdays and noon-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.