At Tucker’s new retro arcade, owners want all players to feel like winners

The open sign on the dark storefront illuminated quietly on a steamy, early August afternoon. Inside the new Infinite Horizons Arcade, situated among downtown Tucker’s revitalized Main Street strip, the scene proved less than subdued.

Amid a collective chorus of buzzes, bleeps and bloops resonating from some 30 mostly vintage arcade games, the venue’s soft opening sprang to life. With only a brief announcement on social media and word-of-mouth, a crowd gathered, generating a palpable energy that rivaled hyperactive video game icon Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Awesome,” a Gen-Xer might call it. Maybe “fire” to their kids.

Owners Chris and Tiffany Brennaman at their new business, Infinite Horizons Arcade in Tucker. Arcade culture helped bring them together as high school sweethearts in their hometown of Macon in the early 1990s. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Owners Chris and Tiffany Brennaman, a married Tucker couple who had been plotting the venture for more than a year and a half, stood in the middle of the action, watching their vision of a neo-retro arcade become a reality. Chris Brennaman might as well be the mayor of video game land, as he shook hands and high-fived guests, before joining a pint-size customer for a game of Mortal Kombat II.

“It’s surreal,” said Tiffany Brennaman, who looked on. “You put all this work into something and you hope people show up.”

And there they did. Like a scene out of “Stranger Things,” groups of kids and adults huddled around games such as Ms. Pac-Man, Q*bert, Tron, and Dig Dug, wielding joysticks and feverishly pressing buttons. While some partied like it was 1985, others flanked rows of TVs where they dove into console games, both contemporary and vintage, beneath a bed of synth wave music oozing from the house sound system.

Peter Wischusen and his daughter, Lulu, 7, enjoy playing a game together at Infinite Horizons Arcade. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Among the crowd was Bronkar Lee, a Tucker father of two, who stayed busy indoctrinating his 8-year-old son, Niko, in the glories of Double Dragon, a late-1980s, side-scrolling game heavy on the 8-bit brawling.

“I think it’s just going to be great for the community to have a place for people to go that’s indoors where you can have human-to-human connection,” Lee said in between virtual kicks. “All of us, kids and adults, miss that these days. And it’s right here in downtown Tucker.”

That’s exactly what the Brennamans said was their dream. As more entertainment moves online and into our homes, and the post-pandemic desire for in-the-flesh activities seems to be at a fevered pitch, the couple believes people long for the shared experience of playing games together in a physical space. The idea was to create a spot where the old school communal arcade ethos jumps into the now, giving multiple generations the opportunity to play and socialize while letting go of life’s stresses.

“We wanted it to have a very specific feel,” Chris Brennaman said. “When that door closes behind you, you’ve walked into a place that is designed to force us to leave our troubles outside.”

A child jumps with retro-fueled excitement, playing the "X-Men" game at Infinite Horizons Arcade in Tucker. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

The Brennamans know something about the power of face-to-face experiences. They partially credit their bonding as high school sweethearts to the magic of arcade culture. In the early 1990s, finding teen-friendly spots to hang out in their hometown of Macon proved challenging, they said. Yet they found welcoming inclusivity at area arcades, where they played games with their friends. When he wasn’t dropping quarters into arcade machines, Chris Brennaman would often chalk up hours scouring the bins of his favorite comic shop, which offered its own brand of fan-fused interaction.

Fast forward to the late 2010s. Now married with children, the Brennamans had a solid work-life partnership. Tiffany Brennaman spent her weekdays in her job as a clinical social worker while Chris Brennaman helped raise their two boys, Erik, 11, and Alex, 8.

Owners Chris and Tiffany Brennaman with their sons Alex (left) and Erik at Infinite Horizons Arcade. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

“I really loved being a stay-at-home dad, but I was getting the itch to do something (new professionally),” Chris Brennaman recalled. Tiffany suggested they map out a plan. When she asked what his dream job would be, Chris Brennaman replied: owning and operating a comic book store.

With Tiffany Brennaman’s support, they set out to do just that. In late 2018, Infinite Realities, located across the street from Tucker High School in Tucker, opened its doors with Chris Brennaman at the helm. Their general business philosophy was something a bit different. They wanted to create a “Cheers”-like environment where everybody knows your name, and something aesthetically pleasing and genial where adults would be just as comfortable as kids.

“We decided our product would be the community we would create, and the comics and board games we sell would just be the vehicle to build that community,” Chris Brennaman said.

Infinite Realities leaned into that idea by sponsoring area organizations and events, including Tucker High School baseball and swim teams, Tucker Pride, Trans Joy, and others. Hosting regular in-store events — from a kids’ Pokemon league to Magic: The Gathering tournaments to comic creator appearances and more — made the shop a safe haven for nerddom. The Brennamans say this approach not only helped the business survive the pandemic and economic downturns, but also to thrive.

Zaria McKibbins plays After Burner. a retro arcade game released by Sega in 1987, at Infinite Horizons Arcade. The business is home to 30 mostly vintage arcade games. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

In early 2025, when they were looking to open a second business, they pivoted from launching another comic shop because of external economic hurdles, including tariffs on paper products from Canada and China. While visiting Asheville, North Carolina, they stopped in an arcade and fell in love with the concept. After a bit more research, they said the idea of creating an arcade of their own started to feel like a fit.

Business owners like the Brennamans may be on to something, believes Andrew Greenberg, executive director of the Georgia Game Developers Association and a director with Atlanta-based multimedia game company Holistic Design. “For many (gamers), the ability to play face to face is the experience they most enjoy,” Greenberg said.

Witnessing that enjoyment firsthand inspired the Brennamans to present the Infinite Realities staff an alternative idea for expansion: a nearby arcade with a contemporary twist that would be an extension of the comic shop’s community.

Zaria McKibbins (in blue and white shirt) and friends hang at Infinite Horizons Arcade. Underserved teens "are exactly who we had in mind as our target audience,” said Gwen Darby, general manager of the nearby Infinite Realities comic store also owned by Chris and Tiffany Brennaman. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

They found a space on Main Street in Tucker around the corner from the comic shop, which would be strategically located between the city’s middle and high schools. Gwen Darby, the comic store’s general manager, said historically teens have had a tough time finding a welcoming spot on Main Street.

“At the end of the day, this space is for them,” Darby said. “They are exactly who we had in mind as our target audience.”

After 18 months of construction, legal red tape, and enough obstacles to make Mario’s Kart spin, Infinite Horizons Arcade was ready to plug and play.

The Brennamans purchased a majority of the classic games from video game collector Chris Walker, a strong supporter of the Atlanta comic book landscape, whom Chris Brennaman originally met at the comic shop. Rarities include a 1983 Atari Star Wars cabinet and a six-player X-Men game from 1992.

“This doesn’t happen without Chris Walker,” said Chris Brennaman. “He could have said, ‘No, these are my prized possessions.’ And then the arcade doesn’t happen. But he’s been the biggest cheerleader of it all. We’re like family.”

Guests can play all the games they can for a flat fee, $10 for one hour or $25 for three. And they promise more games are to come. Less than a week after the soft opening, a pair of Japanese rhythm games arrived as did a Godzilla pinball machine circa 2021.

It’s all showcased in an environment that owes as much to “Blade Runner” as it does to the old school mall arcade. Dimly lit, the arcade’s cyberpunk style glows with purple and hot pink LEDs.

Infinite Horizons Arcade boasts a refreshment stand that will eventually serve beer. "This is an important place to support in a world where third spaces are becoming more rare,” customer Kenny Le said. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

The bar offers up hot dogs, chips and other snacks, as well as ice cream and craft sodas. Once Infinite Horizons Arcade gets its alcohol license, beer will be available.