Get your game face on because a “femme-forward” arcade bar from Western Canada is bringing all-ages fun to King Street West later this month.
Opening on Friday, April 26, GRETA Bar will seamlessly fit in amongst the lineup of late-night venues, party joints, and trendy restaurants that has become synonymous with King Street.
When the first GRETA Bar opened in 2018 in Calgary, Alberta, the goal of the space was to be inclusive and welcoming to all.
“I thought it would be cool to have a bar concept that was really geared towards women because a lot of the hospitality venues that were popping up and relevant were really geared towards men, but that’s not my style,” says Natalie Maas, the director of brand and marketing at GRETA Bar.
“The whole concept is ‘We are all Greta,’ so everyone from every walk of life, different backgrounds, sexual orientations and beliefs can all come to a place and congregate together over the joy of eating really good food and playing games.”
As with the other GRETA Bar locations, now also in Edmonton and Vancouver, the bar will feature a range of arcade games. Gamers can spend all night playing everything from newer virtual reality games and World’s Biggest Pac-Man to classic favourites like Mario Karts and pinball machines.
“There’s a wide range of people that come to GRETA Bar. We might have happy hour with older men and women playing games from their teenage years, but then have young girls who just finished class wanting to play the more state-of-the-art games coming in,” says Maas. “It’s a huge mix of games and opportunity for people to find something.”
With arcade games scattered throughout the dining space, dance floors and bar area, Maas adds that even those who aren’t feeling competitive can sit back, enjoy a share plate and sip a drink without being too far removed from their friends
As for the menu, we can expect to see some of the same globally inspired street food found on the menus out west, like boa buns, street nuggets and the classic Greta Burger which is a staple across all the menus. New additions are curated by Toronto’s own Chef Shawn Tesoro (formerly of King West’s Xango) who will be running the kitchen. Mushroom tempura and lamb chop lollipops are among the items he has added to the Toronto-specific menu.
“It’s a nice mix of everyone coming together with their classics and favourites to launch,” says Maas, adding that once the bar is settled, they will change the menu at least twice a year with added features. “Every location is quite independent.”
The GRETA Bar cocktail menus are just as much of a collaboration with input from team members and staff. While other locations have specialty cocktails named after staff pets, Toronto’s are unique only to the new location. Currently, the star of the show is the secret menu item — the first time the arcade bar has had one — called the Godzilla Greta. While Maas is tight-lipped about the drink specifics, she assures it’s as pink as GRETA and “very, very tasty.”
When GRETA Bar is open, they will offer a party experience akin to bottle service, where celebrations truly come alive. GRETA Bar is known to host occasional small dance-offs. For groups of six or more, the experience includes unlimited games, sparklers, cake and shareable cocktails
“People are obsessed with it and it makes them feel special,” says Maas, noting that guests will use the experience to celebrate everything from corporate parties to bachelorettes and even divorces. “Life’s too short not to go out and have fun and still go dancing with your girlfriend, so definitely do that at GRETA.”
While GRETA sounds like it was tailor-made for the vibrant, party-centric atmosphere of King Street West, Maas admits to initially feeling intimidated by the idea of moving to Toronto from Calgary. However, she acknowledges that GRETA Bar has already been warmly welcomed into the neighborhood.
“Every time I go, the people are so nice and have been so welcoming and just the buzz of Toronto is so infectious — it’s always buzzing, always happening,” says Maas, noting that even fellow hospitality businesses reached out to welcome GRETA Bar. “Toronto is very friendly and community-driven so we cannot wait to actually open our doors and show people who we are.”
GRETA Bar will open at 590 King Street West on April 26.