By Gavin Guffey, Guest Writer
Recently opened University Eatz & Arcade brings a new take on cuisine and entertainment to the corner of Xavier’s campus.
Located at the intersection of Montgomery Road and Dana Avenue, the restaurant-arcade combo has something for students, families and community members alike. When visitors walk in, they are quickly greeted with two options: dining on the left and gaming on the right.
In terms of dining, University Eatz & Arcade provides a menu of appetizers, salads, wings, pizza, sandwiches, tacos and desserts. As for sides, both regular and premium selections are available and can be ordered either as an upgrade to a sandwich meal or a la carte. Leaning into the restaurant’s east coast theme, every sandwich is served on a “Philly Famous Amoroso Roll.” Guests can customize their own pizza, choosing from a variety of sauces, cheeses and toppings. Specialty pizzas are also available for order. The restaurant will also be accepting students’ dining dollars for payment.
When it comes to gaming, University Eatz & Arcade has a wide selection of games for patrons to enjoy. These include World’s Largest Pac-Man, pinball, claw machines, air hockey and more. Additionally, there are multiple games sprinkled throughout the dining area for guests to enjoy.
“I’m really excited to see more students in here,” senior Philosophy, Politics and the Public major (PPP) and Student Government Association President Jake Galvan said. “I see some of the arcade games, and these are the ones I saw at arcades growing up.”
The process for opening University Eatz & Arcade began around July 2024. Xavier first contacted Pinball Garage, an arcade based in Hamilton, Ohio about the possibility of a partnership in the open corner of Montgomery and Dana.
The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is one of the many items featured on the menu
“We were really able to lean on them through a lot of the process,” arcade manager Angela Stevenson said. “Their construction company and their general contractors really helped us a whole lot.”
With one half of the necessary duo committed, the University then pursued prospects for the arcade’s neighboring restaurant. It soon landed on East Coast Eatz, a local food truck with a previous encounter with the University. Owner Mike Martin said that before being contacted about the potential business opportunity, he had been set up at one of Xavier’s Food Truck Fridays events.
“We did one of them last year, and I was told, ‘You better be on your game tonight. The campus president will be the first one lined up in a trailer,’” Martin said. “She has been our best friend ever since. She met me down there and handed me a bag of Xavier swag and said, ‘welcome to the family.’”
His relationship with the school allowed Martin to extend his mobile service to restaurant form.
“We have been looking for a way to be available to everybody year-round because the food truck is only seasonal. We were approached by Xavier University with this opportunity,” Martin said. “They wanted something at the beginning of campus, because this building has been vacant for three years, that was both family and college friendly.”
The purpose of University Eatz & Arcade extends beyond a center for college students to hang out. Martin highlighted the establishment’s versatility and its ability to appeal to a variety of groups.
“Anybody within a 10-15 minute radius, alumni, neighborhoods. We’re trying to reach everybody,” Martin said. “We made our menu family friendly and also student friendly.”
Martin also spoke about an obstacle that has slowed down the opening of University Eatz & Arcade, specifically its ability to serve alcohol.
“The biggest hurdle that we’ve had is obtaining our liquor license. We had hoped to have that by the time we were open, but it’s just been difficult,” he said.
However, Martin is optimistic about the prospect of adding the bar to business when the license is acquired. “That’s going to be another monster on its own,” he said. He believes that opening the bar will only strengthen the current goals that the establishment has for growth.
The Student Government Association (SGA) visited the restaurant on Friday.
“We want to make sure that we’re delivering excellent food, excellent customer service, and then then the next biggest goal is to get our bar open,” Martin said.