Continues Arade is a classic video arcade, bar and restaurant that opened in Alexandria, Virginia…read morein July 2025. It was founded by business partners Allen Brookes and Doug Bauer. An Alexandria native, Brookes grew up playing a variety of games on Super Nintendo and other various consoles throughout the 1990s. Bauer is originally from Pittsburgh and spent many days playing "NHL Hockey" on his Sega Genesis. Fast forward to the 2020s: Brookes' friend Jeff Yates Jr. asked if him he had any ideas for an empty warehouse space that he owned. Brookes envisioned turning the space into an arcade and restaurant, and reflected back on his childhood when arcades offered an escape for children seeking community, friends, and family through games. Brookes partnered with Bauer to make the dream a reality. Chefs Brian Lacayo and Spike Mendelsohn were hired to handle the kitchen duties. Continues features more than 60 vintage arcade games and the kitchen offers menus for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.
My family and I recently had brunch at the Continues while we were on an East Coast Road Trip. We met up with some family friends of ours that live in the Alexandria area. We absolutely loved the vibe at Continues. In addition to classic arcade cabinets, pinball machines, racing games, skee-ball, and rail shooter games, they also have TVs that are hooked up to gaming consoles. We first grabbed a table and looked over the brunch menu. For drinks, I had the "Espresso Tonic" (espresso, tonic water, lemon bitters) and my wife had a "Pineapple Commodore-Mosa". For food, I had the "Saturday Morning" (2 eggs, 2 strips of crispy bacon, chicken sausage, rye toast), my wife had the "Waffles of Warcraft" (w/ house whipped cream, cream garnish, & fresh berries), our older son had the "Bowser's Benedicts" (poached eggs on salty ham atop a fluffy and crusty croissant, covered in house-made hollandaise, served w/ tater tots), and our younger son had the "Chicken Tenders" (served w/ fries) and a "Butter Croissant". Everything was perfectly plated and delicious! After our meal, we bought some tokens and set out to play some games. We had so much fun sampling all of the various games but we probably had the most fun playing together on "Pac-Man Battle Royale", which is always a blast for our family of four. Overall, we had a memorable experience at Continues Arcade and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Alexandria area.