Arcade Club Expands
Founder Andy Palmer tells us about his brand-new venue
We chat with Andy Palmer as he gets ready to open a third Arcade Club in one of the UK’S most popular holiday resorts
Arcade Club has been a tremendous success since it first launched in Bury in 2015. The brainchild of Andy Palmer, it has quickly developed a reputation for its exceptional range of classic arcade cabinets, which are incredibly well maintained and encompass virtually every game you can think of. It’s become a beacon of the north of England and is currently the biggest arcade in Europe, but Andy isn’t one to rest on his laurels.
Early in 2019, Andy opened up an additional venue in Leeds, called Arcade Club Leeds, but it would appear that this isn’t going to be the only new location where you can enjoy classic coin-op games from yesteryear, as Andy has recently revealed that a third location will be opening in Blackpool this year. While Blackpool still features plenty of arcades on its beachfront, there’s a far greater focus on penny droppers, fruit machines and redemption cabinets, meaning there’s ample opportunity for Arcade Club Blackpool to shine.
“I’m incredibly happy about being able to bring back the classics to Blackpool, for me the home of arcades in the Eighties,” admits Andy. “I think we’ll be a great attraction for Blackpool, complementing the modern arcades with a killer selection of games from over the last four decades!” Considering Blackpool has been the host of countless retro-themed events for a number of years now, it makes sense to see a more permanent collection of classic games there. “I feel it’s a natural step for arcade club,” continues Andy. “There are many people (my age and older) who long for the games of their youth.”
Andy’s already noticed this firsthand at the new venue, and it’s not even open yet. “Just the looks on the tradesmen’s faces when they visit says it all,” laughs Andy. “Checking the electronics, lift servicing etc quickly turns into, ‘Do you have Track & Field?’ And, ‘Oh my god, you have an Outrun deluxe! I used to put all my pocket money in that!’ So I think the location is amazing, with thousands of people who lived and breathed arcades during the Eighties and Nineties.”
The location is important to Andy and equally crucial is the focus on Arcade Club Blackpool’s contents. As a result, it will be a little different to the current venues which have a solid mix of classic machines and newer games, including VR, Japanese curios and PC setups. “Blackpool will have all the classics you’d expect from Arcade Club, but it will differ in a few ways,” admits Andy. “They’ll be more focus on the classics (at least initially) as I feel that’s what’s missing from the Blackpool of today. We’ll certainly monitor the situation and change things as needed. It also has a full restaurant and a full bar – so that’s going to be something new for me to play with.”
Anyone who has already visited an Arcade Club will be aware of just how much retro stuff there is to play, from Pac-man and Donkey Kong, to Missile Command, Q*bert and Space Invaders. Both the Bury and Leeds branches do a
good job of taking you back in time, so we can only imagine how exciting it will be to visit a location with a pure focus on the games of yesterday. “They’ll be all the core favourites, so Track & Field, Paperboy, Star Wars, Defender etc (times a hundred), but [there will be] also venue-exclusive titles as we have in Leeds and Bury,” explains Andy.
“So if you went for the £40 monthly pass you will have access to over 800 original machines.” It’s worth noting as well that the pass Andy is talking about covers you for all three venues, meaning it’s potentially excellent value if you live near the current locations.
While Arcade Club’s architect hasn’t told us whereabouts in Blackpool the new location will be, he has revealed to us that he’s spent a long time scouting out a suitable area. He adds that it is a challenge to find an ideal venue that’s capable of sourcing the significant power requirements that an attraction like Arcade Club needs. “For me it’s got to be an interesting building, in a good location and it must be completely different to the other Arcade Clubs,” highlights Andy. “I want people to visit different Arcade Club venues and feel like they’re always visiting totally different arcades, just like it used to be.”
Arcade Club Blackpool is due to open this year. While we’re desperate for a venue down south, a northern focus makes a lot of sense when you consider that cabinets need to be easily maintained, meaning the
Bury hub is incredibly important to Arcade Club’s overall success. With a third venue in place, we were keen to know from Andy why he thinks Arcade Club has become so popular in such a short space of time. “I ask myself this occasionally,” he concludes. “Leeds I felt was a ‘risk’ as I wasn’t 100% sure if Bury was just a blip, and it just happened to work there. Now, though, I feel there is a need for places like Arcade Club. Once you’ve gone through your teens and early twenties your tastes are set pretty much in stone, you become stuck in a rut (or the Eighties) so Arcade Club gives you this experience in gaming you may not even realise you’re missing. This spreads via word of mouth as people start talking about games they’ve not spoken about for 30 years! It’s something special to observe and it’s one of the main reasons I love doing this.”
I wasn’t 100% sure if Bury was just a blip, and it just happened to work there Andy Palmer