Hesperia arcade owner inspired to rebuild after business burns down

An Inland Empire arcade owner was ready to give up on his beloved arcade business when it burned down over the weekend, but after seeing an outpouring of support from his community, he says he's ready to rebuild and continue providing entertainment. 

Sam Choe opened Not An Arcade over two years ago, providing people in the high desert community of Hesperia with family fun and plenty of activities at his location on Bear Valley Road. 

"I wanted to share what an arcade should have been," Choe said of his business, which also had pool tables and board games. "Like a different style, different take of an arcade. ... Friends made friends here, it was more just things to do."

That all came to a sudden end on Friday, when he received a life-changing call from one of his employees.

"The neighbor is asking for a fire extinguisher cause I guess they had a fire," he recalled. "An hour later I found out everything is burning down, and two hours later everything is gone."

San Bernardino County firefighters got the call at around 3:30 p.m., but their firefight was hampered by strong winds gusting through the area. Even so, they were able to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby buildings. 

Choe is still in shock, trying to figure out what his next step is.

"I'm only insured for a fraction of what my machines were gonna cost," he said. 

That's where the community comes in. They started an online fundraiser, which can be found by searching for the keywords: "Help Sam Restore Notanarcade After Fire." So far, they've raised a little over $2,300 of their $12,000 goal. 

"I felt like I wanted to give up, but after my friends started the GoFundMe ... I found out a lot of people had backing and supported me as well," Choe said. 

Now, he's going to look for a new location as he begins what he said will inevitably be a slow rebuild. 

"After I found out I had the support, that gave me the energy to try again," he said. 

Two of the three business in the building were opening when the fire broke out, including Choe's arcade. The third, which was being remodeled, was not open for business. 

Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire, and at the latest they estimated that the total damage dealt by inferno is about $2 million.