Renovations revamp Slinky Action Zone

New arcade games, laser tag area, duckpin bowling, brewing company among the new additions

DUNCANSVILLE -- Recent renovations are transforming Slinky Action Zone into an entertainment center geared toward adults as well as the kids.

New arcade games opened in October and a two-tiered laser tag area and duckpin bowling venue opened just before Christmas. Now, a brewing company will be opening a location inside the facility.

Chris Glunt, general manager of Summit Tennis & Athletic Club, is overseeing the renovation project for DVJ Enterprises Inc., which owns both businesses, and said he is excited about the changes.

"The owners determined the area needed something past the pandemic to deal with stress and other issues," Glunt said. "They decided to reinvent Slinky Action Zone, to invest in it and update it."

Glunt said the renovations include a cosmetic face lift of the facility, complete with modernized lighting.

The payment method for all activities has also been updated.

"We no longer take tokens and coins and use a modern card scanner. It is all electronic," Glunt said.

The project is the first major renovation since 2006 when DVJ Enterprises bought the facility from Slinky Inc., which opened the business in 1995.

The current owners are trying to reach a slightly older crowd and want to give adults more to do while the kids enjoy the new additions and traditional soft play area.

Before deciding on a brewery, Glunt and General Manager Shawn Campbell took notes while visiting other entertainment venues and found that selling adult beverages inside the centers was popular.

"Shawn and I visited other places, and we were seeing they were geared toward parents," Glunt said.

To cater to adults, Huntingdon-based Juniata Brewing Co. soon will be opening a satellite location inside Slinky Action Zone.

Glunt and Campbell looked at five breweries before selecting Juniata Brewing.

With the addition of the brewing company, "We are in tune with others that serve food and have added alcohol for parents," Campbell said.

Juniata Brewing CEO Sean Steeg said he is looking forward to opening inside the center and noted that Slinky Action Zone is building what will be a "turnkey location" for the brewery.

"We don't have much invested in infrastructure," Steeg said, so the upfront costs would be lower than building a location.

Steeg said Juniata Brewing is busiest in Huntingdon during the summer while he expects the busy season at Slinky Action Zone to be from late October through March.

"For us, this will provide more revenue at this time of the year and help us through the winter," he said. "My hope is to get up and running as soon as possible."

The addition of the brewery is expected to have a positive impact on Slinky's business.

"We see that as a game changer," Glunt said. "It will increase the number of adults and food sales."

The menu is being updated to accommodate a different crowd, too, Glunt said.

Adding to the pizza, burgers and hotdogs menu will be "more of a beer menu" including "specialty pizza, specialty burgers and wings," Campbell said.

Campbell said Slinky's hopes to add outside events such as concerts and outside seating, too.

Business has already grown substantially since the opening of the new arcade games.

Business "is up 100 percent in arcade sales as a result of the new games," Glunt said, when comparing numbers from November/December 2018-19.

The addition of a new miniature golf course at the nearby Meadows Original Frozen Custard and a new Dairy Queen near the Meadows Intersection is also expected to help business at Slinky Action Zone.

"These businesses will complement one another. We get regular customers from as far away as Cumberland," Glunt said. "Our goal is to attract traffic from further away."

"So much of business development as well as travel and tourism rely on the willingness of current business owners to make critical investments in the community," said President/CEO Joe Hurd of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce. "The owners of Slinky Action Zone have already been willing investors in projects that impact our local quality of life. Kudos to them for continuing to make the well-being of Blair County a high priority."

The new additions at Slinky Action Zone have led to the creation of at least five new jobs with more expected once the brewery is up and running.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.