New owner to reopen Ybor City's GameWorks

By The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 14, 2010

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TAMPA --

The GameWorks in Ybor City will reopen this week and eventually be retooled to be more family-friendly.

A&E Adventures LLC, based in Weston, is the new owner of the Tampa location and one in Miami, both of which closed last month as part of a restructuring of GameWorks' parent, Sega Entertainment U.S.A.

The Tampa GameWorks will have a "soft opening" Friday, said Mike Abecassis, a principal partner at A&E Adventures. That means the games will be turned back on but that the food and beverage menu will be limited. The goal is to have the kitchen back up to about 50 percent capacity within a week and to rehire all former staff members, Abecassis said.

Eventually, the Tampa GameWorks will change its name and go after a family crowd, he said.

A staff report