SHAWNEE, Kan. — Family fun is the name of the game for one business moving to Shawnee, and it’s filling the space of a similar company that recently went out of business.
Incredible Pizza is hoping to be successful in the space that PowerPlay vacated. The former business has a very similar concept and operated for fifteen years near Pflumm and Shawnee Mission Parkway, but shut its doors for good in September.
Now, Incredible Pizza is investing $4 million to renovate the space with hopes of attracting families to what has twice been named the number one entertainment center in the world.
Here’s a little background on Incredible Pizza. The owners operated pizza parlors in a small town near Houston, Texas. But city leaders there didn’t believe it could find success adding video games, go karts and laser tag to pizza parlors, so the company moved to Springfield, Missouri.
They opened up their first Incredible Pizza in 2001 and the concept exploded in popularity. They now own ten across the Midwest – with one in Mexico – and now they are coming into the Kansas City area.
They will offer a pizza buffet as well as video games and rides, but with a 1950’s fairground feel. They wanted to create a place that harkened to the old days of family fun.
As for PowerPlay, the owners still have a restaurant in the Northland off Barry Road and are focusing all their efforts on making that successful.
The Shawnee City Council is expected to approve a special use permit Monday night to allow Incredible Pizza to operate video games and rides. The owners also plan to improve the lighting and add security cameras so families can feel safe once they open up in early February.
