New Business Update: Galactic Fun Zone

Former MU football players Lorenzo Williams and Monte Wyrick have transformed the former Ice Chalet Antique Mall into an entertainment destination they call the Galactic Fun Zone.
The laser tag arena and gaming arcade opened at the end of July. Williams and Wyrick are building an eight-lane bowling alley that they expect to be finished around Labor Day.
“After playing in the NFL, I wanted to come back to Columbia and do something that I enjoy and others can as well,” Williams said.
Williams, a defensive tackle, and Wyrick, an offensive lineman, played for MU from 2004 to 2007. Williams was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and the Carolina Panthers in 2009 but was cut last August.
Their new “playbook” was a college capstone project, a 30-page business model for an entertainment center that Williams composed while attending the MU College of Agriculture.

“While I was in college, we were always trying to find something else to do besides go downtown to the bars,” Williams said. “So now people of all ages have a place to go and have fun all night.”
Customers entering the Galactic Fun Zone are greeted by brightly colored walls in bright shades of green and purple. Kids run past the more than 40 arcade games to line up for an opportunity to battle one another around spaceships in the 3,000-square-foot laser tag arena.
“I’m a huge Star Wars freak, so that’s where I got the galactic theme and name for the business,” Williams said.
In addition to the bowling alley, the Galactic Fun Zone will also have pool tables, concessions and a bar and lounge for adults. The center will stay open until 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and midnight on Thursdays.
“The bowling alley will be similar to Kansas City’s Lucky Strikes and Flamingo Bowl in St. Louis,” Williams said.

But wait, there’s more: Williams said next year he hopes to build a mini-golf course and go-cart track in the sprawling parking lot.
“I hope to provide a fun, safe environment for Columbia and make this the premier place that people want to come with their families and have fun,” Williams said.