The Iconic Maine Business I Wish Was Open Again for a Day

Having lived in Maine my entire life, I have experienced a lot of things that I remember very fondly. Most of those are from my childhood. There's one business that had locations all across Maine, including my hometown of South Paris,  that I wish would open again for a day,

LaVerdiere's Super Drug Stores

I know, that this seems like an odd choice. Who wants a long-defunct Maine drug store to open again? I do for one reason. LaVerdiere's in South Paris was the first place that I ever played video games in an arcade.

I would ride my bike two miles from my house on Nichols Street to what was then called the Twin Town Plaza. That's where LaVerdieere's was located and had the most amazing arcade I had ever seen at the time.

Action Family Arcade

When the video game boom hit in the 1980s, LaVerdiere's was quick to build their own arcades in the stores and we kids came in droves. When you put a dollar in the change machine, you got five tokens giving you five plays on the games.

The room was dark with only the lights and sounds of the games indicating what was in that room. The walls had Star Wars themed wallpaper. Specifically, The Empire Strikes Back. It looked so cool that I wanted it for my room, but that never happened.

Paperboy, Road Blasters, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Pole Position, Gauntlet, Star Wars. Just a few of the games that Action Family Arcade had. I spent more time there in 1983 than I really should have, but man was it fun!

READ MORE: 25 of the Best Arcades in All of New England

LaVerdiere's Downfall and the End of the Action Family Arcade

LaVerdiere's eventually moved up Main Street to a bigger location at the Cornwall Shopping Center, but by then, the video game crash had happened and the games weren't nearly as fun or exciting as they used to be. But they can't take away my memories of the most amazing arcade from childhood.

LaVerdiere's was eventually bought out by Rite Aid and the arcade and the drug store were no more. I would love to see LaVerdiere's Action Family Arcade open up for just one more day.