Fantasy Claw Arcade Featured by Columbus Jewish News
- Elliot Cole
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Read the full article: Fantasy Claw Arcade opens first Ohio location at Easton
Fantasy Claw Arcade was recently featured by Columbus Jewish News, and the story the publication chose to tell wasn't just about a new arcade opening. It was about the relationship behind it.
The Partnership Behind Fantasy Claw Arcade Columbus
The Easton Town Center location got its start with Brian Campbell, who first reached out to Brad Howard about bringing Fantasy Claw Arcade to Columbus. Todd Appelbaum, who now co-owns and co-operates the location alongside Campbell, joined in after a conversation with Howard about the concept, one that traced back to a connection between the two that started well before Easton was ever on the table.
Howard, who is originally from the Cleveland area, and Appelbaum first crossed paths on a mission trip to Israel, where they happened to be staying at the same hotel. The connection stuck. About a year and a half later, over a visit to Katzinger's Delicatessen, Howard showed Appelbaum what he'd been building. Appelbaum was hooked, and what started as a chance meeting turned into his joining Campbell as a partner on the Columbus market.
Why Appelbaum Bet on Ohio
Appelbaum, an Ohio State graduate who grew up near Cleveland and fell in love with Columbus, saw the market as a natural fit for the concept. He pointed to Columbus's long track record as a proving ground for national retail and restaurant concepts before they scale into other markets. If a concept works in Columbus, it tends to work anywhere.
That instinct has played out in the early going. Appelbaum described the response since opening as remarkable, and shared a moment that stuck with him: a newly married couple came in on the second night, bought around 100 tokens, and spent the evening together while the husband tried to win prizes for his new wife. It's a small story, but it captures something bigger about what Fantasy Claw Arcade is built to be. It's a place for shared moments, not just a stop for a quick game.
What This Story Says About Fantasy Claw Arcade's Growth
Beyond the details of any one location, this feature is a reminder of what's often behind a Fantasy Claw Arcade franchise launching in a new market: real relationships, shared conviction in the concept, and operators who believe in the communities they're opening in well before the doors ever go up.
We're grateful to Columbus Jewish News and writer Ed Carroll for telling that story.
