MAY LOCATION OF THE MONTH – RECBAR
This Month’s “Location of the Month” is Recbar and they currently have about 70 pinball machines and about 60 arcade games at their J-Town location. (70 pins and 100+ arcade games and at Recbar 812 and will have around 30 pins and 30 arcade games at Tilty Bob’s in Lexington) They are a full service bar and restaurant. They have one of the best bourbon selections around with over 200 bourbon offerings available. Their food menu focuses on great shareable appetizers including their well known totchos. (Tater tot nacho varieties) They also offer burgers, sandwiches, tacos with a twist, salads and dessert.
Q: When did you get into the pinball business?
A: We’ve been collecting games for about 10 years. Our first location opened April 5, 2016.
Q: When did you open this location?
A: April 5, 2016 for our original location in Louisville. Our second venue, Recbar 812, opened in New Albany, IN in February 2020. We are currently working on a third concept, Tilty Bob’s that is set to open in Lexington, KY in March 2022.
Q: Do you guys run any tournaments or leagues? If so can you give us more details?
A: We run a weekly tournament on Sunday evenings. It’s a group match play format. Pre-pandemic we averaged around 35-40 players on a weekly basis. We just recently got them going again at the beginning of 2022. We also host Stern Army launch parties and the late night tournament after Louisville Arcade Expo.
Q: Do you have a specific pinball night and what other events/specials do you run?
A: Sunday is our pinball focused night.
Q: Do you fix your own games or do you use a local operator/tech?
A: We have our main tech, Steve, on hand to fix machines full-time. We also have a few other part-time techs and lots of helpful hands from the local pinball community.
Q: What’s the last game you brought in and how often do you rotate?
A: (At the time of this writing) Rush Pro just hit the floor and we’re adding a Williams Indiana Jones, Dialed In LE and Doctor Who very soon. We try to rotate machines somewhat frequently between our venues as well as regularly shopping out our machines.
Q: What would be your holy grail of a machine?
A: Man, grail game is a tough question. I’d probably have to go with Tales of the Arabian Nights. Such a cool, unique machine that you just don’t see very often and a machine we have never owned.
Q: Do you partner with any other locations?
A: We also own Recbar 812 in New Albany, IN and soon to be Tilty Bob’s in Lexington, KY. We are also opening a retro retail store, West Main Retro, that will sell used arcade & pinball machines, toys, retro collectibles, sports memorabilia, bar decor and more.
Q: Do you go to any shows and IF SO which one is your favorite?
A: We attend every Louisville Arcade Expo and help out that crew in any way we can to make it a killer show! Of course that’s our favorite! We love Corey & Joe! We’ve also been to Pincinnati, Southern Fried Gaming Expo & Grand Ole Gameroom (now Music City Multi-Con).
Q: And your closing thoughts and what you do for the pinball community or your local community?
A: The local pinball community is so awesome. Our Recbar Pinball Crew has grown quite a bit over the years and has created great long-lasting friendships. Tony & myself have loved watching our collection grow from 8 machines to a room with 30 machines and the final expansion to 70 machines. Now our total collection has grown to over 200 pins and we are working diligently to get all of those machines out in various areas for guests to enjoy. Without the community support, that would not have happened. We wanted Recbar to be a fun space for everyone to have a good time over games we love. We’ve been fortunate enough to host a Little Flippers pinball clinic with the help of Kentuckiana Pinball and other members of the community. This clinic had around 25 kids who basically spent a day camp with us learning about the machines and how to play. Pinball is something all walks of life can enjoy and we will continue to help grow the hobby as much as we possibly can.
We try to do as many charity events as possible for the community. We have a huge annual Toy Drive and School Supply Drive. We also host appreciation nights for teachers, healthcare workers, first responders, and others throughout the year.
Visit their website recbarlouisville.com/ for more info!
Tags: location of the month, on location, Pinball, pinball location, recbar, recbar 812, tilty bob's