Details Emerging for 'Benny's Burger Joint'

Chef Alex Capasso got the go-ahead Wednesday for a key feature of his new restaurant concept, Benny's Burger Joint. 

All it took was a greenlight from the Collingswood zoning board.

Capasso, who is ending the Collingswood run of Blackbird Dining Establishment with a fixed-price menu this week, will convert its half of the F.W. Woolworth building into a retro video game room.

The other half, which he had operated as West Side Gravy, will be re-branded as Benny's Burger Joint, serving a variety of specialty hamburgers in a retro-themed  setting, Capasso said.

"We’re going to be muraling the walls with the Kool-Aid guy, the Tootsie Roll owl, 'Conjunction Junction'," he said.

West Side Gravy has had a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail table in its front window as a novelty seating arrangement for about four months, Capasso said, but that wasn't strictly a clue as to his intentions.

The idea for the re-design came from having his 10-year-old son, Benny, around the family business.

"He’s here with me a lot," Capasso said. "He’s always saying he’s bored. I was just thinking about things that kids would do. 

"Don’t get me wrong, he’s got more sophisticated games on his phone than the ones I plan on having," Capasso said.

The video game lounge that will take over the space currently occupied by Blackbird will be "a secure room," Capasso said, where parents can tell their kids, "Play a game, come back [when] dinner’s ready." 

"Instead of the crayons at the table, you just say 'go in the other room'," he said. 

But the fun isn't just for kids: Capasso plans to rent out the arcade section for grown-up parties, too.

"Bring in some microbrew beer, play video games all night and eat burgers for your birthday," he said.

The room will have "as many Atari-generation" games as it can, Capasso said, including some arcade emulators pre-loaded with about 200 titles apiece, from Centipede to Burger Time, Frogger and Asteroids. 

He's also got his eye on an air hockey table.

"I think it appeals to the kids, it appeals to older people," Capasso said. "It’s just wholesome fun."