Santa Barbara’s Paseo Nuevo Mall Bids Adieu to Aloha Fun Center

Paseo Nuevo’s mall is not getting the Aloha Fun Center that had been advertised to come to Santa Barbara since last year. The roller skating, laser tag, and arcade amalgamation that was set to open on the ground floor of the former Macy’s building downtown hit multiple snags in the development process, and the owners have since let their lease expire. 

The project reportedly hit some road bumps while trying to adapt the space to hold more people. The owners were met with obstacles in the form of adding bathrooms and making structural adjustments to the former department store, which would have required a lot of work for the family fun center to meet state building code requirements. 

Aloha’s webpage for their Santa Barbara location is still up, showing a pricing menu for their proposed activities with a large, red “COMING SOON!” stamp laid over it, as well as an events calendar that remains devoid of events. The Bay Area–based group had even made plans for hiring events back in December.