Basement ‘Dive Bar’ with arcade games and a ’70s vibe is opening near Lake Norman

An underground arcade bar opens this week in downtown Mooresville, just north of Charlotte.

Dive Bar will open Thursday at 152 N. Main St., bringing games back to the building that was previously home to Video Game World.

The basement bar will have more than a dozen arcade and pinball games, gaming systems, Skee-Ball, billiards and darts. It also has three televisions.

The 1,900-square-foot space will have a 1970s vibe, said co-owner Gary Preston. Two years in the making, Dive Bar will be a place to go get a $3 beer, hot dog and the only arcade experience downtown, he said.

The full bar will have a rotating selection of local beers on tap, as well as wine and liquor. The food will be “concession style,” like pizza and chicken nuggets, said Tara Johnson, leader of business development and marketing for the bar.

Preston and his wife, Kiera, are also behind two other businesses — event venue ParBlu and cocktail bar and restaurant 158 on Main St. — all in the same 1910 historic building.

“All three are very different, even though they’re all in the same building and have different entrances,” Gary Preston said.

Initially, hours at Dive Bar will be 5 p.m.-midnight weekdays and 3 p.m.-2 a.m. on weekends.

The other businesses

The Preston, who own five buildings on Main Street, bought the early 1900s building three years ago. The top floor is loft apartments, Preston said.

Last month, ParBlu, opened in a renovated 1,900-square-foot event space for up to 90 people on the ground floor. So far, its been used for bar mitzvahs, wedding and receptions, and corporate and birthday parties, Preston said.

Dive Bar’s kitchen can be used for catering at ParBlu.

The venue is next door to 158 on Main, a cocktail bar with an extensive cocktail selection including high end bourbons and whiskeys. There are more than 320 brands on the shelves, Preston said.

Since opening in July of last year during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, 158 on Main has had over 11,000 customers and has more than 4,600 members, Preston said.

“It’s looks like a cocktail bar that you find on the streets of Manhattan, Chicago, Los Angeles, or a big city market,” Preston said.

The bar serves charcuterie and cheese boards, salads and a menu that changes about every three months. The small, shareable plates menu has been expanded to include some entree-style dishes, Johnson said.

But one item remains: Pimento cheese. “It is so popular, we have people buy it in tubs to take home,” Johnson said.

158 on Main also has live music every Friday and Saturday night with tribute bands and musicians from throughout the Southeast, Preston said.

Combined, the three businesses have about 12 full- and part-time employees, some working at all three businesses.

This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 10:02 AM.