OPERATOR
OF THE '80s
Stewart Burch
of Cotati, CA
Stewart Burch, 29, could be the
Pied Piper of Cotati, a small
town north of San Francisco
where he owns the Encounter
Zone. After visiting about one
hundred arcades throughout
California, Burch came up with
a fresh approach for an arcade.
"We converted a large ware-
house into quite a plush arcade.
The floors and walls are car-
peted in deep blue. The over-
head lights are turned off and
we've installed track lights and
lamps along the partitions. We
have dimmer switches and we
use different colored lightbulbs
in the lamps. We've tried to
create a classy atmosphere. All
the employees are required to
wear dress shirts and have a
clean appearance," Burch ex-
plains. The stereo sound system
at the Encounter Zone has a
microphone attached which is
used to call any player to the
phone in case his or her
parents call.
The Encounter Zone has 38
video games and 3 pinball ma-
chines. "We like the newest
and latest games here-the
customers expect it," he said.
"The Encounter Zone always
has an adult on duty. Either my-
self or another adult is here at
all times. I only allow smoking
and food in the snack bar
area," Burch says. The En-
counter Zone, in an attempt to
counter truancy from school ,
has set up a rule sheet that is
strictly followed. Every person
17 years or younger must show
his or her membership card to
get in before 3:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday. Membership
cards cost $1 00 per year and
contain information on the
school the youth attends and
his or her school hours. "That
way, as soon as the kids come
in we can check to see if they
should be in school or not, "
says Burch.
The membership card also
allows the patron to qualify for
the "Yahoo Break" , an impor-
tant part of the happenings at
the Encounter Zone. "These are
members-only breaks when two
free tokens are given out for
showing a membership card.
The kids really get excited. They
form two lines to get the tokens.
The excitement generated by
the Yahoo Breaks definitely
maintains interest in the games:·
Burch claims.
Another excitement gener-
A typical evening at the Encounter Zone in Cotati, California.
ating Encounter Zone classic is
the " All American Token Grab'.'
Encounter Zone Rule Sheet
Everyone is eligible to partici-
As an official member of Encounter Zone you are entitled
pate in this one.
to participate in all contests. You are also required to
'' I announce on the micro-
obey all rules all the time.
phone that the All American
The rules are:
Token Grab is about to take
place and the fun begins. We
1. Smoking, food, & beverages in snack bar only.
move all of the chairs and
2. No foul language.
tables from the snack bar area.
3. No students during school hours unless accompanied
All the kids run over to the
by parent or guardian.
area, and if it's an exceptionally
4. No loitering in laundromat or parking lot areas.
large group, I separate the girls
5. You must have your membership card to count your
from the boys. All at once I yell
high score. You must have your card with you anytime
'Yahoo' and toss a bunch of to-
you' re in the center. This is to show you are a member
kens in the air. Everyone can
in good standing and your high score can be counted.
catch a token in the scramble
and the kids enjoy the hoopla
Bonus for members only: show your membership card and your
caused by the All American To-
report card and get two tokens for each A and one token for
each 8.
ken Grab. Besides, it gives the
kids who don 't have any money
If these rules are not followed it will result in loss of membership
a chance to play the games,''
card and privileges. Repeat offenders will be permanently barred
from coming on the premises.
explains Burch.
This may sound harsh, but if the place is not kept clean and neat
Burch is acutely aware o) the
the city will take away my permit to do business and there will
potential problems of teenagers
never again be an Encounter Zone. Let's have fun, stay out of
with a lot of time on their
trouble, win a bike or two and stay friends a long time.
hands. " I talked to a fifteen
I have read and understand the rules.
year old girl whose plan for
New Year's Eve was to go to
every party she could find that
night and drink as much alcohol
as she could get," he said.
Burch decided to try to combat
some of the drug and alcohol
dangers by offering the kids an
alternative.
" Instead of closing at our
usual 11 :00 p.m. on New Year's
Eve , I decided to stay open until
1 :00 a.m . and have our local ra-
dio station, KPLS, broadcast live
from the arcade. People came
in droves, and I like to think we
kept a lot of kids from getting
into trouble. Kids and adults
had a great time without drugs
or alcohol I " Burch said.
Burch has combined his
knowledge of teenagers and a
keen business sense to come
up with an arcade his communi- Some enthusiastic game players participate in the "Great
ty is proud of.
American Token Grab".