It’s early evening in downtown Gilbert, and you just arrived at your favorite restaurant. Tonight, the place is busy, and the hostess explains that the wait time is about 45 minutes. What do you do? Sit and wait? Take a walk around the district?
Scott Goldsmith, one of five partners bringing classic arcade back to Gilbert, has a solution: Ask your hostess for tokens, and walk over to Level One Arcade while you wait.
For those of us who grew up in the days depicted by popular Netflix series Stranger Things, places like the Palace Arcade almost became a second home, a place to meet your friends and compete for the prestige of placing your initials—only three—at the top of the high score listing.
Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas may have had some strange adventures, but they certainly understood and respected the skills it took to master games like Tron, Dig Dug, Asteroids, Centipede and the now-iconic Pac-Man.
Open to the entire family until 7 p.m., Level One Arcade will offer more robust fare in the evenings when patrons will be able to enjoy cocktails and offerings from the local brewery. For now, plans are for nearly 40 classic video games and 10 pinball machines lovingly restored to their original condition by Scott.
While most of the gaming and entertainment has moved online with the advent of the internet, classic arcades have recently been making a comeback in places like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
With 13 arcade-style bars in and around Phoenix, the East Valley can now feel the nostalgia.
Located in the space recently vacated by another local favorite, Grubstak, the new bar will fill a much-needed void for an entertainment option in the heritage district.
For more information and to vote for your favorite game, you can visit Level One's website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Level1Arcade.Bar
