All-Star Gaming opens on Main Street

By Susan Branham Santa Paula TimesHigh tech fun has found a place in downtown Santa Paula. Kids from five to 50 are playing and working at All-Star Gaming on Main Street. The new fun spot is the creation of business partners Steven Rutherford and Bryan Garibay, both full-time system analysts. “We wanted a place that is fun for the kids in town,” Bryan said. “Before now, they had to go to Ventura. We wanted to change that.”Weekday afternoons find plenty of kids sitting on beanbag chairs and playing a variety of games - or working on their homework. “We have 16 Xbox(r) 360s and eleven Playstation(r) 2s,” said Steven. Students can complete reports on the high-end computers, and with their remaining time play games. We’re surprised at how many use the computers to do their reports,” Bryan said.“We try to be good role models for the kids,” Bryan said. No profanity is allowed at All-Star Gaming. “We are selective in our choice of games,” Steven added. There are hundreds of games available to play, and parents can check the games’ ratings. A consent form is available where parents can select which games their children can play. “We’ve had a lot of good response from parents,” Bryan said.The response from the kids has been good, too. “A lot of times we have waiting lines,” Bryan said. “We also have facilities for parties,” said Steven. Party packages are available. Groups reserve spaces for their parties or rent the entire facility. “We’ve already had seven parties,” Bryan said.