Two Bit Circus, a “micro-amusement park” concept that first launched in Los Angeles, is expanding to its second U.S. location in Dallas’ The Shops at Park Lane, near NorthPark.
The new venue aims to open this fall, offering 35,000 square feet of tech-enhanced entertainment that fuses the latest interactive technology with the “wonder and spectacle of classic circus and carnival.”
The entertainment will include custom-designed arcade games; VR, AR, and “extended reality” experiences; “story rooms” that work like escape rooms; technologically reimagined carnival games, an interactive game show theater; cabanas with private gaming lounges; and more.
‘And more’ includes robot bartenders
Does that “and more” include robot bartenders? Yes. Yes it does.
“We’ve always known that the Dallas community is the perfect audience for our next location,” Two Bit Circus Chairman Brent Bushnell said in a statement. He must have heard that North Texans love ordering their drinks from robot bartenders. Which we do.
The venue will offer “classic carnival eats” along with “molecular mixology” cocktails.
‘Gaming, AR, and VR are the future’
[Photo: Two Bit Circus]
“When we discovered Two Bit Circus in downtown LA three years ago, it was the most dynamic, proprietary entertainment concept we had seen,” Ward Kampf, president of Northwood Retail, owner of the Shops at Park Lane, said in the statement. “Gaming, AR, and VR are the future; there are three billion gamers worldwide, and growth in the sector is exceptional. Beyond that, there is a real need for human connection and social diversion. Two Bit Circus answers what our demographic is calling for, and we’re excited to bring this revolutionary concept to the heart of Dallas.”
[Photo: Two Bit Circus]
Investors include Capital Factory and TopGolf exec
Two Bit Circus has several Texas investors, reports the Dallas Morning News, including Dallas’ Topgolf executive chairman Erik Anderson and Capital Factory.
The company itself has deep entertainment venue expertise. Two Bit’s CEO is Kim Schaefer, the former CEO at Great Wolf Resorts, and Bushnell—whose father Nolan Bushnell founded Irving-based Chuck E. Cheese and co-founded Atari—previously worked with Dave & Busters and created high-tech installations for the NFL and top Silicon Valley tech companies.
The company gives back to support schools, youth, and future robot bartender inventors through its nonprofit Two Bit Circus Foundation. The goal is to give young people access to hands-on STEAM learning, modern maker tools, and upcycled materials.
See you this fall in the Two Bit story room!
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