Tip Top - Barley's - Alley Poyner

Downtown, Midtown, and all parts east of 72nd.

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almighty_tuna
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Post by almighty_tuna »

Hahaha!! Great chop! :)
TechnicalDisaster
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Post by TechnicalDisaster »

Finally made it to InPlay today with my co-worker. Our department is looking for a place to host a team outing, and we tried Dave & Busters last month. InPlay was mostly empty, only two other tables had guests. The building looks great.

The Food
Appetizer: Buffalo wings $6.49 for about a dozen wings. We both felt these were the average run-of-the-mill wings you can get pretty much anywhere.

Meal: We both had a hamburger, good price, 5.49 +.49 for a slice of cheese. We both felt the Hamburger was excellent. In fact, we both loved it. The portions were good and we struggled to finish.

The Service
We had a good server, but she failed to do a couple things we felt Dave & Busters did a little better:
1. She didn't ask us if it was our first time there. Giving us an opportunity to ask about game prices, entertainment, etc would have been more welcoming.
2. She didn't mention that video trivia was available. We were halfway through our meal when we realized that some of the TV's were hosting trivia--that would have been fun.
3. The cashier that sold us the play cards was clueless. We wanted to know how much money to drop in our cards, but the cashier had no idea how much tokens any of the games took, she couldn't even give as range. We both dropped $10.00 on the card (and the card cost a dollar to activate).

The Video Games
Nice selection of video games, some were a lot of fun (and MUCH better selection then D&B), but I have a lot to grumble about here:
1. None of the windows were tinted and EVERY SINGLE video game suffered from glare. One game (a First Person Shooter) was simply not playable because of the glare. Inplay really needs to spring for some window tinting.
2. The swipe machines had trouble reading our cards every time we went to use them. The first game we tried (NASCAR) we almost took our cards back to the cashier because we thought they didn't work when I finally got it to swipe. Scott (my co-worker) couldn't get his card to swipe at all until I finished my game. The card never worked the first swipe at any game.
3. No place to put drinks or food. D&B has tables for drinks. I had to put my drinks and food on the floor in most cases when I gamed.
4. Game prices (based on tokens) went from reasonable to very expensive. It cost us $10.00 for 50 tokens and some of the best games cost 10.6 tokens. $10 to play 5 games in about 20 minutes? Most of the games cost around 4 credits, but every game that we were excited to try was 10+ credits. BTW, what is with the odd token prices? 10.2, 4.5, 6.6??? Just round down already.
5. Get some REAL footballs for the football toss. This drove me and Scott crazy. The footballs were pure rubber and would bounce and fly over heads and all over the game floor. It was crazy embarrassing chasing down footballs, and we spent more time chasing them down then we did getting to play the actual game (at a cost of 10+ tokens).
6. The Basketball game didn't give us our final scores. How can we compete or have re-matches when we don't know who wins?

Value
Compared to D&B, Inplay didn't have a better value, especially with all the trouble we had with the games. Maybe playing later at night would have solved some of the problems, but I still need a place to put my drink.

Overall
We had a lot of fun here, but we left a little frustrated with some of the games. This place has huge potential and if I ever heard they made improvements I would be back to give them a second chance in a heartbeat. For now, our team is taking its business to D&B's.
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Post by omahapropertymanager »

bradley414 wrote:2. The swipe machines had trouble reading our cards every time we went to use them. The first game we tried (NASCAR) we almost took our cards back to the cashier because we thought they didn't work when I finally got it to swipe. Scott (my co-worker) couldn't get his card to swipe at all until I finished my game. The card never worked the first swipe at any game.
My fiance and I went a couple of weeks ago, and we were able to play unlimited games for $5/hr (each). Has that changed?
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Post by OmahaChef »

Today was our first day using the "tokens on the card" system. All the games were rigged with it in the beginnng, but they finally got it all up and running. This is probably why the front desk staff don't have many answers. Sounds like they need a bit o' training. The card readers work just like at an ATM or debit machine. Swipe too slow or too fast and it doesn't read the card.

Since the card system wasn't up, we were using an armband system, and charged $5 per hour, which was one of the bargains of the century, especially when people figured out you could stay 8 hours on that one armband and most staff wouldn't know.

Glad you liked the burgers!

And yes, since school opened for OPS Wednesday, daytime is quite lonely now. And if you want the games to yourself in the evening, Monday and Tuesday are a good time to go.
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Swift
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Post by Swift »

The next time I'm in town is going to be Thanksgiving, which also happens to be my 21st birthday, and I am so going to spend a drunken day after turkey day at In Play.
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Post by eomaha »

I would concur with bradley on the glare problem. My family and I otherwise had a great time and inPlay and loved the food of course, we are considering it for our youngest son's upcoming birthday as well. Unfortunately a couple of friends/co-workers who I sent expressed dissatisfaction with the number of games which were out of order. I guess there's a couple of things inPlay can focus on (ie window coverings and staying on top of game maintainance). It definitely beats out D&B's for variety of entertainment... anyone going to D&B over inPlay must be going for the name recongition alone. I assume business is going well, otherwise I might suggest that inPlay strategically position people outside the Qwest Center at the end of various music/sporting events, etc... with some kind of free drink/game discount coupons, etc.
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Post by HskrFanMike »

InPlay can make a killing if they offer a "Play and Ride" option. Park at inPlay, have dinner, play some games, catch a free ride to and from events at the Qwest Center, and then more drinking/playing afterwards.
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Post by omahapropertymanager »

HskrFanMike wrote:InPlay can make a killing if they offer a "Play and Ride" option. Park at inPlay, have dinner, play some games, catch a free ride to and from events at the Qwest Center, and then more drinking/playing afterwards.
The only problem that I see with that (and I could be totally wrong about this) is that inPlay doesn't have that much parking. Combined with the folks living at the Tip Top, I don't think that would work. Again, I could be wrong, but don't they only have 1 somehwat small parking lot?
TechnicalDisaster
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Post by TechnicalDisaster »

$5 an hour? That is a sweet deal. I don't suppose InPlay could change the cards over to an hourly rate? Something like the card has unlimited use untill an hour after it is activated. Only two games were out of order when I was there, dance-dance revolution (or some clone like it) and one other one.

Anyway, I would certainly visit Inplay again when the rock climbing wall is up. Perhaps I'll go with a larger group of people.

~Chris
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ItsAllAboutMe
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Great burger

Post by ItsAllAboutMe »

I made my firs visit to Inplay and the burger was great!!!. Good food, nice bar. (I'm not in to the games but I will be back for the food)
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Post by the1wags »

I've been eating at InPlay about once a week or so now, the food is always good. My favs are the club and the seafood alfredo is outfreaking standing. :) I haven't played any games but would check into it with an hourly card setup. I think Jeff is on to something big with the coupons before/after Qwest Center events.
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Post by DTO Luv »

I finally had the Philly at InPlay and that WOW was good as WOW! I've never had anything like that before.
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Post by almighty_tuna »

WOW, that must've been a GREAT sammich!! WOW!
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Post by OmahaChef »

No, we are not showing tonight's game. We could not get all the components in place in time. Interesting concept, the way D&B's is doing it. Knowing what I do now about how one gets the game in a bar environment, I can see why they are doing it in one room, with one TV.
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Inplay - What's the deal?

Post by theurge »

My buddy and I decided a couple weeks back to finally check out Inplay.  We've been to Dave and Buster's a few times and wanted to see how it compared....

I was disappointed!  Honestly, almost 1/2 of the games there were not working.  Some of them did work, but they looked kinda beat up.  Overall the place just looked kind of run down.  We ended up using our money playing air hockey the rest of the time.  

I was just surprised how dumpy the place seemed to be for only being open for just a short while.  You would think the owners would keep up on game maintenance and whatnot...  Inplay cannot compete with the way Dave and Buster's is operated.  Just my opinion.
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Big E
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Post by Big E »

I have a feeling we're going to hear from someone on this...

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Post by Stargazer »

About 1/3rd of the machines didn't work when I went there the first month it opened.

What ever happened to the rock climbing wall? (I ask assuming it didn't end up going in since I was last there ages ago)

It does seem that they do pretty good business on their 'conference' side.  Hopefully that is carrying them... it may be some time before the area really provides the type of traffic they need (Urban Outfitters? doubt it... baseball park? definitely... assuming it's a good one)
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Stargazer wrote:About 1/3rd of the machines didn't work when I went there the first month it opened.

What ever happened to the rock climbing wall? (I ask assuming it didn't end up going in since I was last there ages ago)

It does seem that they do pretty good business on their 'conference' side.  Hopefully that is carrying them... it may be some time before the area really provides the type of traffic they need (Urban Outfitters? doubt it... baseball park? definitely... assuming it's a good one)
The 4 hotels that are going in might help.
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Post by Stargazer »

True.
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Post by Harpoon »

I went to Inplay a while ago, and the games worked fine at the time, but the food was horrible and we had a waitress that looked like she was on meth. We did have fun tossing the footballs and basketballs though.
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Post by DonutStopLover »

i had the same experience when i went there 4 months ago.  About 40% of all the machines didnt work, and the service was terrible at the bar.  Was pretty surprised considering how new it is.
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Post by OmahaChef »

It only took me a month to notice this thread.  Sorry you had bad food Harpoon.  I tend to have issues from time to time with my night cooks.  

I'm not really sure how to respond to this thread, but here goes....

On December 13th, inPlay will actually be open 2 1/2 years.  It's issues started even before it opened.  The construction budget was far too low in several categories, and so things had to be cut, like the rock climbing wall.  The owners who opened it did not believe in advertising, and with a Dave & Busters opening two weeks later (with lots of advertising), inPlay was lost in the shuffle.  With no start-up budget (the assumption must have been it would rake in massive bucks day 1) it wasn't long before daily finances got tight.  And that means maintenance and upgrades get difficult.

The key words for a new business is location, location, location.  I have lost track of the number of times someone has arrived for a teambuilding or a day long meeting on the banquet side and has said, "I didn't know we were going to the "hood" for this meeting".  Sigh!  inPlay is a destination, not part of an entertainment/shopping district, and will likely be so for a number of years.  What would make someone living at 156th and Center drive down to North Downtown to inPlay when there are a number of options in West Omaha?

With poor funding, the only saving grace has been the banquet side, and even that is starting to suffer a bit, as people are concerned about parking (the complete lack thereof), and the location, which in many people's eyes may as well be 30th and Ames.  We had a hospital who wanted to do a large event with us, and wanted to know if we could guarantee that the run-down warehouse across the street would be gone by March, as they were concerned that the doctors might be offended by the sight of it.  Seriously!!!  They booked, but two weeks ago cancelled out.  

So, we have a business supported by a banquet and conference center, with no working capital, and the decisions we have to make daily are....do we spend the $600 - $900 on a part to fix a game or buy food for upcoming banquets?  Is it fix the Power Pitcher, or meet payroll?

The last new investors?  They recently spent $4,000 on framed photographs of stadiums for the Stadium Grill & bar portion of the business.  Why not $4,000 to fix games?  Don't know.

Yes, the servers suck.  Your server very well may have been on meth.  I think I remember her.  Service has been an issue for a long time.  Why?  inPlay is in a bad location, has no excess funds to fix and improve, and so business is sluggish at best, so the sportsbar servers don't make enough money and the good ones leave and the bad ones stay, because they are too lazy to go anywhere that is busy.  And so the cycle of doom and despair goes on and on.

Things may change real soon.  There is a lot happening which may help inPlay or may cause it's incarnation into something somewhat different.  Or it may all fall through.  In the meantime, if you hear of an executive chef job, PLEASE let me know!!!!  

This has been uplifting....more beer please!
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Post by nativeomahan »

Gee.  Sorry to hear about your implosion.  I have never been to InPlay because the whole concept escapes me, but still I hoped it would succeed, and be an anchor for the nascent neighborhood.  Maybe it was just too ahead of the curve.

My guess is that the hotels won't help it.  If the place is falling apart it won't attract anyone.  Certainly the hotel front desks won't play up InPlay to their guests.
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Post by adam186 »

I think the group that opened it up was unprepaired from the beginning.  I do think it's savable and could do very well.  Advertising, some investment to make things functional, better employees with higher pay, etc will do wonders.  Find another investor that can shell out the immediate expenses to get the place off the ground again.

That said, I've been there a few times and had no issues and enjoyed the food and service.  Thanks Chef.
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Post by Uffda »

as people are concerned about parking (the complete lack thereof),
I think this also is a big problem for people who might want to travel down there. There use to be a gravel lot on just to the east but the hotel has taken that lot. I also have noticed that several of the streets lights that are along Cuming and by the temp gravel parking seem to be out/not turned on, which makes it pretty dangerous at night to be crossing from the temp parking lot.
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Post by Big E »

OmahaChef wrote:do we spend the $600 - $900 on a part to fix a game or buy food for upcoming banquets?  Is it fix the Power Pitcher, or meet payroll?
I think I know where you can save a boatload of money on your seasonings...   :;):

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Post by annad »

The Holiday Inn Convention Center has an Executive Chef position open.  They have parking issues, too, though.
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Post by Ben »

I wouldn't be surprised to see InPlay business go up significantly over the coming months with the recent (and upcoming) opening of the North Downtown hotels.  If I remember correctly, the only one of the new hotels to have a restaurant is the Holiday Inn, and it'll be the last one of the 4 to get finished (and that might be a while, given the snails pace they're going at).  All those folks are going to need somewhere to eat, and that's the only place within walking distance of that area.  

Sure, most out of towners have rental cars, and most hotels have shuttles, but from personal experience, when I'm holed up in a hotel in a town I don't know, I often look for the closest, most convenient place to grab a bite.

Chef, is this something you guys are expecting?
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Post by Coyote »

annad wrote:The Holiday Inn Convention Center has an Executive Chef position open.  They have parking issues, too, though.
Omaha World Herald wrote:Rocky Rocha is the new executive chef at the Magnolia Hotel. Rocha had worked as senior sous chef at the downtown Omaha Hilton and Liberty Tavern, and previously as sous chef at Harrah's and Ameristar Casinos in Council Bluffs.

A student at Metropolitan Community College's Institute for the Culinary Arts, Rocha is the third chef at the helm of the former Sheraton since the Magnolia boutique hotel chain purchased it in December. He succeeds Gerald Birnley, who replaced opening chef Jon Jerdon this summer.

Michael Rhoades is no longer executive chef at Holiday Convention Centre and CoCo Key Resort. Rhoades and Holiday staff confirmed that he left the position last week. There's no word yet on who might succeed him or where he might land next.
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Post by OmahaChef »

Ben wrote:I wouldn't be surprised to see InPlay business go up significantly over the coming months with the recent (and upcoming) opening of the North Downtown hotels.  If I remember correctly, the only one of the new hotels to have a restaurant is the Holiday Inn, and it'll be the last one of the 4 to get finished (and that might be a while, given the snails pace they're going at).  All those folks are going to need somewhere to eat, and that's the only place within walking distance of that area.  

Sure, most out of towners have rental cars, and most hotels have shuttles, but from personal experience, when I'm holed up in a hotel in a town I don't know, I often look for the closest, most convenient place to grab a bite.

Chef, is this something you guys are expecting?

Well, Ben, it is something we are sure hoping for.  The fact that some of our investors are also investors of the Fairfield will give us an inside edge there as well.  In addition, I can't disclose anything yet, but something is in the works, and if it becomes a signed deal, expect an overhaul of inPlay for the positive.  It is happening fast, so hopefully I'll be able to share a lot more soon.
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Post by Omaha Cowboy »

Sounds good Chef..I will be waiting for your feedback on this potential development....

In the interim, as always, I wish you the best of success at inPlay..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace
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Post by cdub »

We gave the restaurant another shot at lunch about 3 weeks ago and it was as slow as we recalled... We had four people and there were maybe 20 others in the entire place yet our lunch took probably 30-40 minutes to arrive.  A no-no for anyone who wants a business lunch crowd.  The food was a little less than smokin hot so the server probably was slow moving but my guess is that the kitchen played their part as well... The quality and taste were acceptable.
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Post by drew89 »

I went there last friday and it was very crowded and I didnt notice a game not working... and I think that the hotels will help it alot
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

OmahaChef wrote:In the meantime, if you hear of an executive chef job, PLEASE let me know!!!!
AH!  I wish I'd seen this sooner.  The Magnolia Hotel just hired a new head chef not two weeks ago.
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Post by OmahaChef »

No problem.  I know of at 10 least people besides myself who applied for the Magnolia job and never got a call for an interview.  In fact, the position filled so fast, I wonder if they didn't have their candidate selected from the start.

Anyway....still lots of negotiations with several potential investor groups.  One could mean a huge positive benefit for inPlay, another one I'm not so sure about.  Guess which one I am rooting for??  In the meantime, we hired a Restaurant & Bar Manager, something we have not had for a long time, so hopefully this will help with issues of service in the sportsbar.  

Feel free to keep posting good or bad reviews, as we can't improve if we don't know what people really think of their experience at inPlay.  [/b][/code]
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Post by Coyote »

I hear you have been pretty busy lately Chef. Haven't seen you here for a while. I hope they are not overworking you - but I don't know what chef isn't.
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Post by the1wags »

We had our IT dept holiday party at InPlay last week. The food was good. I liked the chicken enchiladas. They also had a really good chocolate mousse type pie. Very tasty, good work Tom. The only problem was that everyone got done eating around the same time, the bar got slammed and there was only a couple people (maybe 3) working it at first. I bet I sat and waited 15-20 mins for my first beer and saw a few people just walk off because of the wait. Game wise most everything was going, maybe 3 or 4 games were broke, no biggy. Overall it was very good, we had it there last year and this year so I'm expecting to be there again next year. As long as they have some bartenders ready everything will grand. :)
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Post by Brad »

I always tell the new people when I train them that they make their money off the walk up crowd.  However we don't have 300 people and 3 bartenders, we have more like 50 people and 2 bartenders.  A lot better ratio.

Good to hear Chef, a manager should help (if he or she is worth a _______).  They say you can't have the criminals running the prison!

With a new manager and 4 new hotels, things are looking good for InPlay.
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In Play Out of Play

Post by nativeomahan »

InPlay gets new owner, makes room to add a tenant
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10310861

From the Omaha World-Herald/April 16

The name "InPlay" is out of play in Omaha, but the north downtown arcade, grill and bar, and banquet facility are not out of business.
The three facilities within InPlay Omaha — InPlay Arcade, the Stadium Grill and Bar, and the Forte Banquet and Conference Center — are under new ownership and management, said Doug Whitmore, sales manager at Forte Banquet Center.
The previous owners/managers left to focus on other investments, Whitmore said. "That just hasn't worked out for them to handle this property."

Mike Stessman of the Peoria, Ill., company that created the InPlay concept, did not return phone calls for comment.

The grill and bar and the arcade will be re-branded under a new, yet-to-be-determined name, Whitmore said.
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