Hooligans Family Fun Center to Open Soon in TD

The new Hooligans Family Fun Center will be located at the former site of Poppy’s Market & Deli, 2718 E. Second Street across from Les Schwab Tire. The building, seen here, will eventually house the Family Fun Center.

By Xavier Orion Olaez

Kate and Brian Ford

The Dalles is getting a new fun family center. And by the response to initial postings on Facebook, this is a much-needed business in The Dalles.

“Will there be pinball? Please, please please,” was just one of the comments that came across online as a recent post about the business drew more than 600 likes.

Good news - Oh yeah, Pinball is in the mix.

One of the new owners, Kate Ford, said they had been working on the details of the business for a couple of years, and they are pumped to let the games begin.

In addition to Kate, Hooligans will be owned and operated by her husband Brian Ford, and their kids Savannah, Jacob and Emma.

Emma is mentally disabled and because of that, they plan to hire and accommodate people with disabilities as much as possible.

Kate and Brian have lived in The Dalles for the past 24 years. Kate had been doing daycare, and Brian is a general builder with a license in Washington. He has been constructing just about anything for the past 20 years, Kate said.

Hooligans Family Fun Center intends to be open in the next few months and will be at the old Poppys Market & Deli building.

Hooligans will have pinball machines and some Ms. Pacman for the older demographic. And for the younger set, they are hoping to add “redemption” games where kids earn prizes. They’re also going to have a 9- hole, mini-golf course and party rooms with more of a modern theme.

Jacob is quite a golfer and will be putting his spin on the course.

Firepower is one of the Pinball games to be offered.

The Fords plan on having three large party rooms and offering party packages. The packages will accommodate large party groups, and Hooligans will help set up the events the way the people want them. For example, if you want catering for the party, they’ll take care of it. They’ll plan on serving nachos, hot dogs, subs, ice cream and will have baseball cards for the kids too. They’ll also run an open dining area for anyone dropping in. And they are looking to cater to all functions, even bridal showers. They believe they’ll be able to have 100-150 people in at a time. 

The Ford’s bought the building back in November of 2019. Wasco County property records show the building was purchased for $199,000 and sits on .85 acres. The building is 2,800 square feet.

She said when COVID started in early 2020, they decided to take the past year to remodel. There wasn’t much to do just a little bit of cosmetic work. The building is 2,800 square feet. They’re hoping that all goes well and soon they could expand and add more to Hooligans!

“We hope it will be a fun place to have parties or for families to spend quality time together,” Kate said.