OT-Save Pinball Pete’s
December 26th, 2020 at 12:36 AM ^
https://www.facebook.com/111685072202955/posts/3773308676040558/?d=n
Merry Christmas everyone!
We are sorry to make this announcement today, but we must do what we must...
We have loved to be part of Michigan’s culture for nearly forty years and are doing our best to continue on, but now we are asking for you help!
Please share with all your friends and family, and we hope to see you all very soon!
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-pinball-petes?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
(Pasted from Facebook)
December 26th, 2020 at 1:30 PM ^
I know that Barstool Sports is persona non grata here (for a lot of good reasons), but they have created a fund to help small businesses survive until the end of the COVID pandemic. As long as the small business keeps their employees on payroll, they are qualified to apply. (https://www.barstoolsports.com/the-barstool-fund)
I don't know if anyone working at Pinball Pete's reads MgoBlog, but I figured it would be worth it to mention it just in case. I don't have Facebook, so I can't share it with them there.
December 26th, 2020 at 12:45 AM ^
I spent a lot of time in there when I lived on S Forest. Too much time. There and Micky Rats.
I never could figure out the business model though. Sitting on prime real estate and bringing in a buck here and there.
December 26th, 2020 at 1:11 AM ^
Not to mention arcades in general are a dead institution. But man do I have sweet memories there. Shot out to Lance if he still works there.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:28 AM ^
Yeah, it's basically a set piece (one with nice memories). For several years I've wondered if some Trustafarian was running it. If you look around that area and especially the commercial districts to the west you'd expect some kind of chain store.
December 26th, 2020 at 9:32 AM ^
But coincidentally, it’s an ideal set up for money laundering.
December 26th, 2020 at 1:24 PM ^
thisguygetsit
December 26th, 2020 at 6:34 PM ^
Speaking of money laundering, can someone explain the Broadway Party Store? How can it possibly have survived as a legitimate business for decades when there's never any cars parked outside?
December 26th, 2020 at 8:29 PM ^
As a pin head and collector, these machines are way to new and/or kept up, including LED conversion and updates, to not be a viable legit niche shop that is feeling the effect of 2020 . Just from the pics of the playfields I can tell these machines are shopped regularly and taken care of.The insinuation of this business is not legit is bullshit and irresponsible without any fact.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:54 PM ^
The insinuation of this business is not legit is bullshit and irresponsible without any fact.
Yeah! What the fuck do you guys think this is, the internet!?
December 26th, 2020 at 1:45 AM ^
If there is one business where I spent a lot of time in my days at U-M that I would want to last, it would be Pinball Pete’s.
When I successfully completed my Thesis the place I went to celebrate was Pinball Pete’s.
My now wife of many years went to her first Michigan game with me when we had only been dating a couple of months. We drove to Ann Arbor and stayed at a friend of mine’s the night before. The first place I took her was Pinball Pete’s.
I had my bachelor party years ago in Ann Arbor and we finished the night at Pinball Pete’s.
Ann Arbor looks a lot different from when I was there, but I was happy that the little downstairs arcade gem had lasted.
December 26th, 2020 at 11:44 AM ^
Problem is though, there are games still at Pete's that were there when you were there as a student.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:02 PM ^
I miss playing the GnR pinball machine.
Play it a few times and it says "Out of all the fans in the world, you're definitely one of them!"
Welcome to the jungle baby...
December 26th, 2020 at 8:07 AM ^
So many wasted hours at the pool tables there, but so much money won off unsuspecting out-of-town students who fell for the "Well, I've never played before..." routine, among other lies. I had my fun as an undergraduate, in other words.
It was a great place to kill time between classes, and to hang out in general. Sad to hear this news.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:13 AM ^
Save the clock tower!
December 26th, 2020 at 8:34 AM ^
Great Scott!
December 26th, 2020 at 8:42 AM ^
I made one arcade game in my career a couple years ago and went to IAAPA a couple of times. Family Entertainment Centers are an interesting business. Some of them do very well, but the games themselves are all about redemption and not video games. People are basically playing the ticket meta game rather than pac-man or mortal combat. Group sales predominant and FEC’s usually have go karts, trampolines, climbing walls or other activities to attract people. Stand-alone arcades have a hard-time. Food sales make up over 50% of the profits and last I remember Pinball Pete’s didn’t have food. The retail-apocalypse has been happening for years now and the amusement park location based entertainment was supposed to save malls, but COVID has decimated that concept at least in the short term.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:46 AM ^
I went there maybe only once in my entire four years there, and I think it was just for a scavenger hunt. I’m quite amazed it’s lasted this long. Arcades just really aren’t a thing anymore. At least not like they were 20-25 years ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favor of places going out of business and people losing their jobs, but I have to believe that if the owner of Pinball Pete’s wanted to sell the property, he or she could get quite the pretty penny in doing so. It’s in such a great location and there would have to be plenty of suitors dying to come in, buy that site for top dollar, and turn it into another student bar or good restaurant.
December 26th, 2020 at 9:17 AM ^
All the youngins posting here. I do believe Pinball Pete's was originally Flipper McGee's, but moved to a different location. My senior year at Michigan 1982-1983 I managed Flipper McGee's and the Crosseyed Moose for the lady who owned them.
December 26th, 2020 at 9:23 AM ^
Is that you in the coupon?
December 26th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
Unfortunately no. Had to have short hair due to Army ROTC.
December 26th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
Remember the pool hall on the second floor of the Union? I seem to recall there was a smoking section. Just a tepid beer tap away from the real thing!
December 26th, 2020 at 8:58 PM ^
The pool hall was still there 10 years ago. Probably still is. (No smoking though.)
December 26th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
Holy Crap! This brought back memories! I forgot about Flipper McGee’s! ?
December 26th, 2020 at 10:10 AM ^
Yeah I think it changed from Flipper McGee’s to Pinball Pete’s right after that, maybe spring ‘84.
You could catch me playing Joust and Elevator Action, which in circumspect was the most boring game ever.
December 26th, 2020 at 10:52 AM ^
Those games were fun. I played a lot of Asteroids...while working.
December 26th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
A friend of mine and I (I roomed with in the AXΣ house and he was later best man and my wedding) visited Ann Arbor the spring of 2000. We walked down South U to see what was still there 17 years after we had left. Found Pinball Pete's (where Flipper's used to be) but Pinball Pete's was closed. I guess he had moved across the street by then.
We wandered into Orange Julius (or whatever business was there then) and asked about Flipper's and Pinball Pete's and the person working there had never heard of Flipper's but did proclaim Pinball Pete's as an institution in Ann Arbor. 16 years at that point would make it an 'institution', but boy did we feel old that day.
December 26th, 2020 at 1:28 PM ^
Missile Command with "99 Luftballons" ringing in my head. (How did Nena get it to rhyme in both languages?)
And Centipedes. Lots of Centipedes.
December 26th, 2020 at 2:05 PM ^
Neunundneunzig Luftballons! I have that on the flash drive in my car.
The cacophony of sounds from all the machines sounding off at the same time was a thrill.
December 26th, 2020 at 2:35 PM ^
I remember that playing on the radio when I drove the transit road to West Berlin, being monitored by armed Hind-D helicopters. Good times.
December 26th, 2020 at 8:08 PM ^
And that war was won without much shooting.
December 26th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
Um, RGard, I think your coupon has expired.
December 26th, 2020 at 2:08 PM ^
Yep, over 40 years ago. Time flies when you are having fun.
December 26th, 2020 at 9:24 AM ^
I probably went to PPs about 50 times as a student and had a blast every time I went there. I went mostly as a freshman because I had a tougher time than most finding a social scene early on, and just used PPs as a sanctuary. I was in East Quad, so it was super convenient.
Not surprised to see it struggle, but I read that adult arcades, like a Dave and Busters, do pretty well (COVID caveats apply). Perhaps a rebrand for PP could work.
December 26th, 2020 at 9:33 AM ^
A plan has been in the works to take the whole block east of East U down for quite a few years now. That includes the Brown Jug, too, but they had intended, anyway, to re-open after the rebuild.
I'm not sure Pinball Pete's was ever going to survive that.
December 26th, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
I will personally drive to AA and fight whoever takes away the Brown Jug
December 26th, 2020 at 10:01 AM ^
I cannot believe they survived this long tbh. Good luck to the owners in their next endeavor.
December 26th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
I have some great memories going there as a kid. Now that I think of it though I don’t know if I actually went more than a couple times when I was actually in school on campus. Always think of it as a permanent fixture in AA :(
December 26th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
Thanks, I doubt I would have seen this without you. missed many a class by being there. Just donated and shared to Twitter and Facebook
December 26th, 2020 at 11:21 AM ^
WHAT ABOUT MICKEY RATS AND SIMULATION STATION
December 26th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
I think Simulation Station was open for about a week. If that's the standard, we'll have to start celebrating Steve's Ice Cream, Topper's Pizza, and the food court in the Liberty Street parking garage.
December 26th, 2020 at 1:11 PM ^
nuh uh
December 26th, 2020 at 6:30 PM ^
I stand corrected. I moved to Ann Arbor in the fall of 1984, and my recollection was that it had just opened when I arrived and that it closed within a few months. Apparently, I recalled badly.
December 26th, 2020 at 12:52 PM ^
South U is getting a complete makeover
I'm still not over Village Apothecary going out. . .
December 26th, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^
Pretty soon college campuses will be indistinguishable from suburban nouveau town centers.
December 26th, 2020 at 2:06 PM ^
and that will be a tragic loss.
December 26th, 2020 at 4:38 PM ^
For me, Pinball Pete’s was a favorite hangout as a high-schooler. I met girls there, learned how to flirt (and how not to), and had great times playing pool with high school friends. Definitely fun memories.