Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum inches closer to locking down new location
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — Earlier this year, the city of Farmington Hills announced that a popular arcade in Oakland County would be demolished to make way for the renovation and expansion of a shopping center.
However, the future of the arcade is looking bright.
For decades, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum has been a staple in Farmington Hills. It is known for its quirky style, antiques, and vintage games.
"We get people who come visit us from all over the world," said owner Jeremy Yagoda.
Some of those first-time visitors include Onalee Sturgeon.
"We are definitely coming back here. We already decided…we're going to get a jar, save our quarters, and come in," Sturgeon said.
For Louis Morin, bringing his son to the place he himself created fond memories over the years.
"There's something to be said about the collection that has been here. It's just cool," said Morin.
Several months ago, the city of Farmington Hills announced the arcade would be torn down for an overhaul of Hunter's Square Shopping Center.
This prompted the public to sign an online petition to save the beloved business, which collected nearly 50,000 signatures.
Yagoda remains humbled by the support, though was ultimately shocked by the city's decision.
"It's disappointing, but ya know, there's an old saying: when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. And this is giving us the opportunity to do what we wanted to do for years," Yagoda said.
Yagoda says despite the future demolition, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is not closing. It will just be moving locations.
"We have until the end of February on our lease so the plan is to stay here until the new year. After the new year, we're going to close and start the move to our new bigger and more marvelous facility," Yagoda said.
Yagoda says he has a couple of good options on the table for a new location and is inching closer to signing a lease in the next few weeks.
He says the new arcade will be nearby and will allow the business to expand.
"We're going to be bigger, definitely. We're going to be able to have a couple private party rooms so we can do more birthday parties, and it can be a little bit more personalized. We're going to be expanding the collection, obviously, but at the same time, we're going to be able to properly space out stuff so it's not too squished together. I've wanted to expand and have private party rooms, but it just wasn't an option, so now we're kind of forced into that corner and it's a good thing," Yagoda said.