Arnie Kaye

Who is Arnie Kaye?

Arnie Kaye was a local businessman in Westport, Connecticut well known for his famous battles with the town in establishing a Video arcade in the same town. He died in 2003. The arcade, Arnie's Place, was built in 1982, and closed on Sunday September 18, 1994. Arnie Kaye was known for his abrasive, unconventional tactics in responding to resistance from local town people, and the city counsel, when he first proposed to open the arcade. In addition to making threats to open less desirable establishments in its stead, he gathered support by attracting the attention of local and national media, and at times employed the Hells Angels in order to attract attention and threaten local sensibilities. The arcade survived for 12 years, and was well known for its unique architecture, and balance of classic and contemporary arcade and amusement games. Arnie's Place also had a pool hall attached, and in the late 1980s also added an adjacent ice cream parlor, complete with animatronic ice cream cone characters, and other characters.

Kaye also built, on a neighboring property, the New York-style International Deli. The architecture of the deli was in the same style as the neighboring arcade.