NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Should arcade-style businesses be allowed to open at the Moorestown Mall? That’s a question Moorestown voters will get to weigh in on in Tuesday’s election.
A 1959 New Jersey State Amusement Games Licensing Law prohibits businesses that give prizes from games of chance, similar to ones at Chuck E. Cheese or Dave & Buster’s.
Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie says the mall has lost some big tenants in recent years and reversing that law would allow for something new to move in.
Gambling businesses will not be allowed. She says the new establishment would likely use the mall’s vacant liquor license to offer food and drinks and, Gillespie hopes, attract new visitors.
She says attracting new visitors is important because the mall is the town’s second-largest taxpayer.
“A business like this that is geared towards families would really draw in a lot of people to the mall and would then, hopefully, spend some time shopping — perhaps see a movie while they’re there,” Gillespie said. “So we think this is an important piece of revitalizing that mall.
Gillespie says there doesn’t appear to be any groups strongly opposed to the changes.