Blits arcade and restaurant makes having fun a business

ZANESVILLE – Wendi Roberts, co-owner of Blits arcade and restaurant, spent 15 years in the world of banking before she decided to make a change.

“Honestly, you spend all your time in that environment, just nothing but work, and it can get to a point where you lose a sense of joy about life,” Roberts said.

So now her life is focused around the opposite of corporate stress.

“We just try to have fun,” she said.

At Blits, fun comes in the form of pizza, arcade games, prizes and an inflatable obstacle course. Parents can sit at the tables off to the side while the kids burn off energy in the open area, driving virtual race cars, spinning jackpot wheels, bowling, shooting free-throws at the basketball hoops and a number of other games.

“It’s always a good sign when the kids are so busy playing games that they don’t even care when the pizza comes out,” Robert said.

“We do have really good pizza, though,” she added.

Beginning with hand-tossed dough, with thick pizza sauce and more than 100 pepperonis spread liberally atop, the pizza is then cooked in a deck oven until the crust turns flaky and golden.

“Trust me,” Robert said, “you will never see anything frozen or pre-made in our kitchen.”

For Roberts, owning a place like Blits has changed her life. Sure, running a business brings on its own mountain of responsibilities, but, unlike her years in corporate life, the responsibilities here are in service of a personal mission and not just a means to pay the bills.

“When we started Blits, we really wanted to give the community a place where kids could go and have fun, a place for them that would be its own world where they could just run around and be kids,” she said.

And that’s what makes it worthwhile for Roberts. After hours spent preparing the kitchen, looking over budgets, paying bills and all the other tasks that must be completed to keep a business running, she still gets a rush of joy seeing the kids come through the front door – seeing their eyes light up as they scream and jump around in the flash of color and sound.

“People seem to lose sight of having fun the older they get,” she said. “Sometimes you need a reminder of just how fun life can be.”

epsmith@gannett.com

740-450-6772

Twitter: @evansmithreport

About the Neighborhood Fare

The Times Recorder will feature a local eatery and what fare makes it unique each week. If you have a suggestion or are a restaurant owner who would like to be featured, let us know at trnews@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com.

About Blits

3949 Northpointe Drive

740-455-2587

Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.