NICEVILLE-When Duke Higgs was a kid, he remembered hanging out in parks, malls and malls.

He said that since then, the situation has changed a lot. Although these meeting places may seem outdated, Higgs still realizes that Niceville needs a place where the children can vent and relieve pressure-his 15-year-old son Tyrone is one of them. This is his source of inspiration for opening ice cream shops and shopping malls.

"Our town has no bowling alley, no cinema, no mini golf course, no arcade," Higgs said. "In Niceville, there is really no place where children can hang out with their families, a place that puts children first. I think there is a place in our community that is suitable for Chuck E. Cheese or ShowBiz Pizza (Place) Style place, I think I will put similar things together."

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Higgs opened Honeybee Ice Cream and Arcade at E. John Sims Parkway on July 31.

Higgs originally came from Evansville, Indiana, and he conceived the idea 23 years after retiring from the Marine Corps four years ago. He is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base and moved to Niceville in 2014.

He decided on the name and decorative theme of the bee because he wanted to illustrate its family-friendly nature.

"The thematic thinking process is that Chuck E. Cheese Pizza has mice; ShowBiz Pizza has bears," Higgs said. "I like the idea of ​​a child-friendly place with a mascot. Our mascot is a bee, and we have an adult-sized outfit that can be worn on weekends."

Beehavin, the bee mascot, can be used on weekends and birthday parties.

The ice cream comes from Cedar Crest, a distributor in Wisconsin.

"This is Wisconsin's five-star creamy ice cream, and we truck dry ice from Wisconsin via FedEx every week," Higgs said. "We have 32 flavors."

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The most popular flavor is Superman. He said that that has been taken off the shelf-a pun.

"Kids and adults like that," Higgs said. "It has blue moon, banana and strawberry flavors."

Higgs says customers can add fresh toppings or put ice cream in waffle cones that are freshly made and hand-dipped daily. He pointed out that even the whipped cream is homemade.

Honeybee also has 24 flavors of snow cones and 17 flavors of ice cream rolls.

"We have a cold dish that freezes. They pour the ingredients on the cold dish and it freezes right in front of you," Higgs said. "They mixed together the ingredients including fresh fruit and toppings, flattened them all, rolled them into several rolls into the cup, and put additional fresh toppings on top."

Some of Higgs' favorite ice cream roll flavors are Mango madness, which is made with vanilla base and fresh coconut and mango toppings, mint chocolate mixture and cherry bombs.

Other menus include various flavors of milk boba tea, fresh fruit boba tea, hot dogs, popcorn, delicious coffee and tea.

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Arcade games include more than 40 games such as air hockey, basketball and maze arcade games. All machines are operating in dormitories where replacement machines are available.

"People have the opportunity to get a quarter full of cups like we did in retro arcade games in the 80s and 90s and put them in the game," Higgs said. "I have many people who say,'It's like walking into a time machine and seeing the original Pac-Man lady in the original cabinet in 1982.' I have Donkey Kong in the original cabinet in 1981."

Other old-fashioned arcade games available include Galaga, Moon Patrol, and Asteroids. It also has more modern games such as King of Carnival Shooting Game, Dance Revolution and Seated Mario Kart.

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Higgs said that one of the most popular attractions is the virtual reality pod, where people can wear virtual reality headsets to choose from 100 different rides and games.

"This includes roller coasters; it has space and galaxy rides, such as "Star Wars"; it has dinosaurs; there is a candy roller coaster in it, which kids love. We had a terrible ride in the snow, in the air and water Race. When you ride the bike, the chair moves with you, so it’s fun."

He said that Higgs's favorite part since opening is seeing people smiling, laughing and having a lot of fun.

Higgs said: "I saw moms and dads of my age, in their 40s or 30s, playing with their children the games they played in arcade games 20, 25, 30 years ago." Bring back those memories for people. I have 30, 40, 50-year-old men and women who come to me and tell me they love arcades, ice cream, and the whole experience. They are grateful that we have added this community."

Honeybee Ice Cream and Arcade is open daily from 8 am to 10 pm at 703 E. John Sims Parkway, Niceville. After the home football match at Niceville High School, the company will remain open until midnight.