BOISE, Idaho — For people that have grown up in the Treasure Valley, Pojo's Family Fun Center is a bit of an icon. It was opened at its original location in 1974 by the Wood family, and they still run it all these years later.
"Everybody knows Pojo's. If you've been in the Valley for 50 years, you know Pojo's," said current owner Gary Wood.
The Pojo's story began when Wood's father saw an ad and decided to open the business. Originally he wanted to name the company Pogo's, but didn't want to share the name with the PoGo stick, so he decided on Pojo's.
"So he opened that in 1974. And that's how it started, we introduced a few video games," Wood said. "Video games seem to be really taken off in 74. That was Pong and Gotcha and a few others and it just went from there. We took down that 18-hole golf course to nine, so we'd have more room for video games."
They moved to the current location on Fairview in 1992 and started upping their game. Wood said with the bigger space they could add more games.
"We had a lot more redemption games, which is the games that give out tickets. And a lot of the bigger simulator games like the driving games, batting cages, different stuff like that. We just loaded it up. Just loaded it up," Wood said.
Pojo's eventually added bumper cars in 1994 and a carousel in 1996.
"We cut out the wall. We made it look so when you drive down Fairview Avenue. You can see that carousel at night. It looks really sharp," Wood said.
He added that all the animals for the carousel were handpicked for the business by his father.
"My father wanted to make sure there were animals that were, you know, like from Idaho," Wood said, "bobcats, a deer, a whitetail deer, an Appaloosa, you know, because it's Idaho horse. But yeah, he picked them all out. My father did."
Over the years times have changed and video and entertainment games have changed as well.
"You know, when video games first came out, they were they were the main focus of our business, but not so much anymore," Wood said. "More or less. It's the it's the merchandisers, the games that give out the tickets. You know, people like to win something.”
Wood said video games aren't so much of the focus anymore. It's more about winning tickets and prizes.
"I believe it's more of the redemption," he said.
After fifty years people are still finding redemption, and happiness, at Pojo's.
Wood believes it comes from the dedication of his employees, and his family.
"I still have my sister that works with me. And my three children and our grandchildren. So there's four generations working here still right now," Wood said.
Family members Tamara, Lexie, Jackie, Jonah and Zachary all work at the family business.
Wood said he hopes Pojo's stays in the family while it keeps entertaining people in the valley.
"Well, I don't think God's gonna give me 50 more years, but we're gonna ride it out," Wood said. "We're gonna be here as long as the kids want to run it. You know? That's how long we're gonna be here."
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.