SPRINGFIELD — Walking into any arcade, many people make a beeline for the nearest claw machine; there’s just something addicting about watching the claw come down, snatching the prize, and anxiously waiting to see if the grip holds.
If claw machines can be so successful on their own, why not try a claw-exclusive arcade?
James Pepion and Justin Field, co-owners of Claw City at 1883 Pioneer Pkwy. E. in Springfield, worked together to create a claw room in Oregon after becoming inspired by the claw rooms popping up across the country. “We had just seen that it was getting more popular in California and on the East Coast and so we wanted to create our own kind of version,” Pepion said.
Claw City celebrated its grand opening in Springfield on Feb. 3.
The space is jam packed with machines. There are standard one-claw machines, but with multiple four-claw machines, there is enough space for up to 65 players at any one time.
To start, customers purchase a play card which can then be loaded with game credits. One dollar will buy four credits, but if customers pay $40+ at one time, bonus credits are added as well.
One-claw machines use 12 credits per play, and four-claw machines use six.
Employees are also willing to move specific prizes up from the bottom of a machine to make winning them easier. At the end of a visit, players are able to return any unwanted prizes in exchange for tickets, which are also saved on a play card. Tickets can be used to trade up for bigger prizes.
Customer service is a priority among staff members.
Shay Arm, manager at Claw City, was the previous owner of Bambini Children’s Boutique in Eugene and has experience in operating a small business. Arm loves working with children and families, and helping them create a good experience, she said. “We just want to make sure everybody has a really good time here, so we do everything in our power to make that happen.”
The owners also schedule meet and greets almost every week with popular characters such as Snorlax from Pokémon, Baymax from Big Hero 6, and more.
Claw City is the only claw room in Oregon, Field said in an interview with KMTR. Having found success in the business, Pepion and Field are now working to further develop their operation. They are opening a new location in Tigard, Ore., as well as expanding the location here in Springfield.
By Sept. 1, Pepion is hoping to add more claw machines and a game room into the space next-door to their current space on Pioneer Parkway.