Better distractions for today
“I think people have gotten tired of the coffee culture as it exists today, that you go to the coffee shop with your computer or phone and you don’t talk to anybody,” says Adam Marostica, manager of Snakes & Lattes.
“You come here, you put away your computer, you put away your phone and you actually communicate with people. It’s not so much about the board games as it is about communicating with other people.”
For Kate Hancock, general manager of The Ballroom, the distraction from our busy lives is key. “Our brain needs those extra activities to keep us busy and happy, so places need to have the ability to do multiple things in that one area.”
With nine cramped bowling alleys on the main floor, and an upstairs room featuring ping-pong, foosball and video-game systems, The Ballroom typifies the new-school approach to these old games. The place has been a hit with corporate events and become a great way to kill time in the obviously evolving Entertainment District, where a few short years ago drinking was really the only option.
“I come here with my buddies before we head out,” said Antonio Scaradil, 24. “Living in Mississauga, it’s better to play a few games before we go out properly. My buddies and I are competitive about everything, so it’s good to kick their asses to start off the night.” Hancock says The Ballroom’s founders hope to perfect the concept and potentially franchise it. She jokes that they would love to knock down the wall to Jack Astor’s next door and expand, because nine lanes just aren’t enough.
That’s exactly what Snakes & Lattes is doing. The board game café, which boasts a wall featuring more than 2,000 games, has already annexed the former computer store next door and is closing for a few weeks starting this weekend to knock down the wall in between. The expanded gaming room will be licensed when it’s ready.
The newest addition to the trend is on King West. Spin, backed by actor Susan Sarandon, features 12 ping-pong tables and a slick vibe. (There are also locations in Milwaukee and New York City.)
Joining the scene shortly will be The Pinball Café in Parkdale. Already creating a buzz online, owners Jason and Rachel Hazzard are aiming for a Valentine’s Day opening. Hazzard plans to create a space that celebrates the old machines, with plenty of retro accoutrements. “I started looking into the whole subculture of pinball, especially vintage games, and they really are interactive artworks. They’re so much fun; they’re colourful, the sounds that they make,” says Jason Hazzard. “You just don’t get to see them anymore . . . And I thought, what would be really great and fun, and to get a collection of some of these classics and get them restored and get them back out into the world where they belong, where people can play them and enjoy them and younger people, too, can see these machines.”
He is adamant it will not be an arcade — and despite pleas on their Facebook page, it will not be licensed. Hazzard says he’s had his demons with alcohol, and wants a family-friendly environment without the hassles of a bar.
“I honestly think that some of the younger generation, they’re not as interested in drinking. If you walk through the Annex, or Yonge and Eglinton, you’ll notice that the bars are half empty until much later at night. But the cafés are packed,” he says, perceiving a market for activity and “having a good time without spending too much money, and gaming is the answer.”
Besides, if you must drink and play pinball, just head to Unlovable on Dundas St. W., where the front area features a Star Wars pinball machine and two arcade cabinets. But be warned: It is usually very busy.