Pac-Man themed restaurant to open in Chicago suburbs

They say a new idea is one of the most valuable things a business owner can have, regardless of their enterprise. Well, you can be confident that nobody has done this one yet. According to the Chicago Tribune, a Pac-Man themed restaurant is destined for the suburbs of the city in 2015. The restaurant, which will be an addition to the popular Woodfield Mall, a shopping center located in Schaumburg, Illinois, will be known as Level 257 and is expected to attract a range of online cooking school students, gaming enthusiasts and families.

The restaurant
In a move that may be currently unparalleled in the culinary industry, the restaurant is actually being developed by a video game company as opposed to a private party. Namco entertainment, which is affiliated with the creation of the infamous arcade game, is currently developing the establishment, Gamespot reports. The eatery is intended to be family-friendly but somewhat high class, featuring a range of moderately priced cocktails and decor including multiple fireplaces and bar lounges. With seating for 180 individuals, Level 257 will be a paradise for children, as it is set to include multiple bowling alleys, pinball machines, televisions and, of course, video games.

The namesake
As you might have expected, Level 257 has been named in an homage to the game that gave it its theme. In the original Pac-Man, when the user reached Level 256, a glitch in the game’s processor would cause part of the screen to be replaced with a series of letters and numbers, rendering it unplayable. As a result of this, the game effectively ended on level 256. This is because the technology used to determine and count levels in the original game was an 8-bit byte which counted in binary and, therefore, could only reach the number 256. While modern versions of the game have had this problem removed through either greater storage or the use of emulators, the restaurant’s reference to the original should please true fans.

Cause for celebration
The restaurant is coming just in time for a party, as the 35th anniversary of the original release of Pac-Man by Namco will be occurring in springtime. To make sure that the event is capitalized upon, the restaurant will be playing host to an event celebrating the games honor in May 2015.

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