Funspot reopens Monday after 3-month closure

LACONIA — Bob Lawton stood next to a poster in Funspot showing a fortune telling machine he once owned.

Made in Germany in the 1920s, It was called Grandmother’s Predictions and featured a wax statue of an old lady wearing a white bonnet, a gray cat perched on her shoulder.

Lawton got it at Seacoast arcade for free and sold it years later to a private collector for $65,000. It was completely restored and he estimates it may now be worth $500,000.

But even Grandmother, with her moveable mouth and spirited feline, couldn’t have predicted what Lawton’s Funspot has experienced this year.

Three-month closure

The attraction, which holds the Guinness world record for largest games arcade and rarely misses a day of business, has been closed for the last three months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The arcade, with more than 600 games, will open Monday with reduced capacity and a series of precautions in place to prevent spread of the disease.

Stanchions have been set up to keep people well back from the counter where they claim their prizes.

A sign at the always popular Skee-Ball concession encourages customers to “please respect one another’s personal space while in this line and elsewhere.”

During the downtime, the Skee-Ball alleys were taken outside for a deep cleaning.

Philosophical attitude

At age 89, Lawton looks back over 68 years of operating his attraction, and can’t remember a time when there was a bigger disruption in the business.

“I’m not really complaining,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that you never faced before and you never may face again.

“I never worry about anything. I know once we open again, things are going to be great. It’s one of those things you have to go through. You hate it, but what are you going to do?

“If something comes up I don’t have control over, I don’t care about it.”

He said people have been starving to have some fun, so his business may be well positioned as society starts to reopen.

Best foot forward

Meanwhile, the break has allowed for some extra maintenance and improvement efforts. The bingo hall, which reopens Tuesday, has been scrubbed from top to bottom. The Braggin’ Dragon kitchen has also been given a deep cleaning. Bowling area seating has been reconfigured to allow more social distancing.

Lawton hasn’t had a day off in 25 years. He regards his business as a labor of love.

He points out a maple tree that arborists were able to save, expensive games that he made sure were purchased and old games that were lovingly restored.

“When I started this, I was 21 and I didn’t have a dime,” he recalled. “So I got my brother to help me build an indoor 9-hole mini golf. And he didn’t have a dime.

“I borrowed $750 from my grandmother, which she never wanted back. That’s how all this started.”

“I’ve had a ball. I love it.”

When the business was young he lived nearby in what he described as a shack that had portions built in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s.

“It was a dump, but that was the best I could do at that time. As I gained some money, finally, I built a big garage on it.”

He needed room for his plow truck and equipment.

“I did all the plowing for 25 years. I could remember plowing three days in a row, 10-hour days.”

Now he hires a company to do all the plowing, sanding, salting, irrigation and sod work.

Safety first

His main priority is customer safety.

“I can’t imagine anybody coming in and getting coronavirus,” he said. “I couldn’t take that. That’s why I closed this place way back. I just wouldn’t let another customer in.

“I’ve been in this business here for all those years and I’ve never had an accident, ever. Not one. And I can tell you there’s been millions of people go through here. And it’s not just luck, it’s because I won’t allow it to happen. I just do whatever is necessary to make sure everybody is safe.”

An example of his safety priority is a major parking lot LED lighting project done about 10 years ago.

“The old ones were yellow, they didn’t show up at all and half of them were out, their seals broken,” he said. “It cost me $45,000 to do it. And if you don’t think I had some opposition from some of my friends here, but I said, ‘I’m doing it anyway.’

“The difference is night and day. It’s gorgeous out there. You can read a newspaper out there. Before you couldn’t even see where your car was.”

The NH.gov website has guidance for businesses that are being allowed to reopen. Amusement parks are among the last that are reopening their doors. Other operations listed for Monday openings are adult day services, arts and music education, movie theaters and performing arts.