Fun Factory headed back to Kona

KAILUA-KONA — Nearly eight years after closing its doors, Fun Factory is returning to Kailua-Kona.

Fun Factory Inc. is shooting to open the arcade before summer 2018 in the old Blockbuster location within the Kona Coast Shopping Center, Marketing Manager Rynell Shauf told West Hawaii Today. The 5,000-square-foot facility will feature the “latest and greatest in games” and will be able to host birthday parties and other events.

More details, including about job openings, will be released as plans move forward, she said.

Fun Factory closed its Kailua-Kona location in September 2009 with little notice. However, the company told West Hawaii Today the closure was not financially motivated, but rather Fun Factory would be back as soon as a better facility than its prior location in the Kona Inn Shopping Village could be found.

Fun Factory opened its doors in Kailua-Kona in 1979 at a location near the intersection of Alii Drive and Hualalai Road. In 1995, the facility caught fire and Fun Factory was later reopened at its current location across the street from Kakina Lane. The company also operates a Fun Factory in the Waiakea Center in Hilo.