An arcade opens inside NJ mall and it seems like the ’80s again

Now that “Stranger Things” is done, if you’re missing an '80s vibe, I have something that might help.

Remember the glorious '80s with the ridiculous hair and leather pants? The Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray movies in that “decade of greed” when we were all supposed to get rich? Except some of us were still kids going to the mall on the bus.

Ah, the malls, as popular as ever and long before they were in economic trouble. And what could us kids in the '80s always find inside most malls?

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An arcade!

Think mall arcade scenes in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." It was the age of Space Invaders and Pac-Man, of Donkey Kong and Tetris.

For me, growing up in Rahway, my mall was Woodbridge Center. The arcade was narrow and long and it was called Space Port. Oh yeah, soooo futuristic, or so we thought. We felt we were the coolest in that place. Everyone went.

If that brings back memories, you might feel nostalgic to hear there’s an arcade opening in a New Jersey mall. Considering there are certain things you rarely to never see at a mall anymore, like arcades, pet shops, and record stores, this is a big deal. Maybe you’ll even have fun introducing your own deprived kids to the mall arcade experience as if "Caddy Shack” should be playing in the movie theater there.

Round1 Bowling & Arcade

According to NJ.com, Round1 Bowling & Arcade held its grand opening recently at Menlo Park Mall in Edison. It’s not just arcade games. It’s billiards and bowling and karaoke and food and drinks. It moved into the space formerly occupied for years by Rainforest Cafe.

Round1 may just be single-handedly bringing the '80s arcade vibe back to malls because this isn’t the first one to open in a Jersey mall. There’s already one at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth and at Deptford Mall.

If we could just bring back a Sam Goody’s record store and a Spencer’s, my midlife crises could be complete.