Gastonia has a new Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum
Gastonia just got a new family-friendly arcade, and the owners hope to be part of a full revamp of an old shopping center.
Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum officially opened its doors at 3210 Union Road in the Forest Brook Shopping Center on March 1.
York Chester Middle School Counselor Julie Connolly and her husband, James Connolly, decided to open the arcade after years of playing arcade games with friends and family at their Lake Wylie home.
James Connolly said he has always loved playing pinball, and he began collecting the machines nearly four years ago.
“My first pinball that I got is one that I used to watch people play when I was a kid,” Connolly said. “It came out in 1985, I was like, probably 9 years old at the time. I could play occasionally, but I generally couldn’t afford it, so, you know when I grew up and was successful in my career, that was the pinball machine I bought. It’s a high-speed police state trooper type of beat, very popular.”
Out of the nearly 80 games currently available at the arcade, 15 are from Connolly’s personal collection.
“I bought a pinball machine years ago, and it just led to another pinball machine and some arcade games we have in our basement. I used to like watching people play them when we’d have parties at our house, and I enjoyed watching especially kids play pinball because it’s something they’ve never seen before,” Connolly said. “It just made logical sense to create something like this where kids could play as much as they want for a flat fee.
"I’ve got three kids of my own, and it costs so much money to go to a, you know, like Chuck-E-Cheese or Dave and Busters where $15 barely gets them 15 or 30 minutes of play.”
Admission to enter the Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum is $14.99 per person, which grants visitors access to all games for the day.
Connolly said the facility also has a concession stand that sells hotdogs, nachos and more as well as two party rooms that can be reserved for parties using the contact information on their website acrcadepinballmuseum.com.
According to Julie Connolly, a soccer center and a Honduran restaurant are also soon to open in the shopping center on Union Road.
The couple hopes the new businesses will help in revamping the shopping center, she said.
As for the arcade itself, James Connolly said the couple plans to continue adding to their collection and that they hope to find more classic games from the '80s.
The arcade’s current hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia has a new Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum
