Leveling up the barcade: A visit to Chicago’s Pac-Man themed Level 257

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It’s the driving force behind the continued existence of ‘50s radio stations, drive-ins, and other monuments to Baby Boomers. But as Gen Xers like me find ourselves locking eyes with the unblinking gaze of middle age, nostalgia has an ever-growing hold on us as well.

Some of that I could live without—I'd rather not hear Human League's "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" while I'm grocery shopping. But nostalgia does have one upside: the revival of the arcade. I spent much of the early ‘80s dropping quarter after quarter into the likes of Gorf, Crazy Climber, Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, Moon Cresta, and many others. And today in the mid-2010s of Chicagoland, I can revisit my misspent youth by dropping by Wicker Park barcade Emporium or Brookfield’s massive Galloping Ghost Arcade. And now there’s a third arcade-themed destination around these parts: Namco’s Level 257.
Namco describes Level 257 as “a brand new restaurant and entertainment destination inspired by Pac-Man.” With the restaurant opening up for “beta testing” this week in advance of the grand opening in mid-March, I grabbed my 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son (who has gladly accompanied me on visits to Galloping Ghost), and we drove out to the sprawling Woodfield Mall in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg.

Level 257 is nestled into a 40,000-square-foot corner of the mall right next to Sears and just a couple of doors down from Rainforest Café. We could see the brightly colored sign heralding its presence from the frontage road as we exited the Eisenhower Expressway. Parking was plentiful nearby because the restaurant was still in the “soft open” phase (and because who wants to go to Sears anyways), so we found a spot fairly close to the door and made our way in.

We were greeted by a grinning Pac-Man statue standing atop his four ghost tormentors giving us a winking smile and a thumbs up. Immediately on our left was the gift shop filled with all things Pac-Man. And to the right were the stairs, beckoning us upwards and into the heart of Namco’s Pac-Man themed extravaganza.

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