Barcade
Encyclopedia
Barcade is a chain of bars with locations in New York, New Jersey and Philadlephia. The bars feature more than 30 vintage arcade game
s from the 1980s and draft beer from local and regional microbreweries
.
The original Barcade opened in 2004 in a former metal shop at 388 Union Avenue in the Williamsburg
section of Brooklyn and won immediate acclaim for its unique combination of vintage arcade games and rare American craft beers. The bar was founded by 5 friends including the filmmakers who made the 2004 documentary film American Beer
about the American craft beer industry. 25 beers are available on draft and cask and are chosen exclusively from American craft breweries. The selection leans towards locals from the northeast, including Brooklyn Brewery
, Sixpoint Craft Ales
, Cape Ann Brewing, Chelsea Brewing, Dogfish Head
, Victory Brewing
, Climax Brewing, Southampton Publick House, Blue Point Brewing and Captain Lawrence Brewing. Highlights from the arcade game collection include Tapper
, Q*bert, Donkey Kong
, Tetris
, Robotron: 2084
, Centipede, Super Mario Bros.
, 1943
, Berzerk
, Frogger, Rampage
, Tetris and Star Wars.
Barcade first filed for a trademark of its name for use in bars and restaurants on July 20, 2007.
In 2010, it was announced that two other locations would opened by the owners, the first in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey and the second in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Jersey City location opened on April 22, 2011. The Philadelphia location opened on October 10, 2011.
Many world record holders and world class gamers can be found at the Brooklyn location. Plastic surgeon and Barcade regular Hank Chien set the world record in Donkey Kong
with a score of 1,061,700 in March 2010. Chien can often be found at Barcade, practicing his skills on the Donkey Kong machine, wearing his operating scrubs.
From 2005 to 2007, Barcade hosted an event called "Fünde Razor", an officially-sanctioned fundraising event for Penny Arcade
's Child's Play
in which they dedicate a special area of the bar to playing the video games Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Proceeds from the event go to the gaming-related charity.
More recently, an event called "Wii-mbledon" took place, in which televisions and Wii gaming consoles are set up around the bar and for a Wii tennis tournament. This event takes place around the same time as Wimbledon.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
s from the 1980s and draft beer from local and regional microbreweries
Microbrewery
A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....
.
The original Barcade opened in 2004 in a former metal shop at 388 Union Avenue in the Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
section of Brooklyn and won immediate acclaim for its unique combination of vintage arcade games and rare American craft beers. The bar was founded by 5 friends including the filmmakers who made the 2004 documentary film American Beer
American Beer (documentary)
American Beer is a 2002 feature-length documentary directed by Paul Kermizian that chronicles and documents the American craft brewing industry. The film was shot in the spring of 2002...
about the American craft beer industry. 25 beers are available on draft and cask and are chosen exclusively from American craft breweries. The selection leans towards locals from the northeast, including Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery was started in 1987 by former Associated Press correspondent Steve Hindy and former Chemical Bank lending officer Tom Potter. Hindy learned to brew beer during a six year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, where possession and consumption of...
, Sixpoint Craft Ales
Sixpoint Craft Ales
Sixpoint Craft Ales was founded in 2004 by Shane Welch, a former homebrewer who originally grew up in Milwaukee. The microbrewery is located in a factory in in Red Hook, Brooklyn that formerly manufactured filing cabinets...
, Cape Ann Brewing, Chelsea Brewing, Dogfish Head
Dogfish Head Brewery
Dogfish Head Brewery is a brewing company based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam Calagione. It opened in 1995 and produces 75,000 barrels of beer annually. Dogfish Head has been a rapidly growing brewery - it grew nearly 400% in between 2003 and 2006...
, Victory Brewing
Victory Brewing Company
Victory Brewing Company is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey and Storm King, which are distributed in 30 states. Victory Brewing is located at 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335...
, Climax Brewing, Southampton Publick House, Blue Point Brewing and Captain Lawrence Brewing. Highlights from the arcade game collection include Tapper
Tapper
Tapper, also known as Root Beer Tapper, is a 1983 arcade game released by Bally Midway. The goal of the game is to serve beer and collect empty mugs and tips.-Overview:...
, Q*bert, Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (video game)
is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
, Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084 is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics in 1982. It is a shooting game that features two-dimensional graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans...
, Centipede, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, 1943
1943: The Battle of Midway
1943: The Battle of Midway, known in Japan as , is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game released by Capcom in June .-Gameplay: The game is set in the Pacific theater of World War II, off the coast of the Midway Atoll...
, Berzerk
Berzerk
Berzerk is a multi-directional shooter video arcade game, released in 1980 by Stern Electronics of Chicago.-Gameplay:The player controls a green stick-figure, representing a "humanoid." Using a joystick , the player navigates a simple maze filled with many robots, who fire lasers back at the...
, Frogger, Rampage
Rampage (arcade game)
Rampage is a 1986 arcade game by Bally Midway. Players take control of gigantic monsters trying to survive against onslaughts of military forces...
, Tetris and Star Wars.
Barcade first filed for a trademark of its name for use in bars and restaurants on July 20, 2007.
In 2010, it was announced that two other locations would opened by the owners, the first in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey and the second in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Jersey City location opened on April 22, 2011. The Philadelphia location opened on October 10, 2011.
Many world record holders and world class gamers can be found at the Brooklyn location. Plastic surgeon and Barcade regular Hank Chien set the world record in Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong
is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He is roughly twice the size of a normal gorilla, weighing approximately 800 pounds. Donkey Kong first appeared in Nintendo's popular 1981 video game of the same name. Since then he has appeared in over 20 games in his own series, as well...
with a score of 1,061,700 in March 2010. Chien can often be found at Barcade, practicing his skills on the Donkey Kong machine, wearing his operating scrubs.
Wind Power
Barcade made a name for itself being powered by 100% wind power which each of the bars purchases through green energy providers. The Brooklyn location gets its power from wind generated turbines located in upstate New York., the New Jersey and Philadelphia locations from a combination of wind generated turbines in New York and Pennsylvania.Special events
Barcade hosts many special events including frequent "beer nights" in which beer from a specific brewery is featured on draft and cask and the owner and/or brewer of the brewery appears to answer questions and meet customers.From 2005 to 2007, Barcade hosted an event called "Fünde Razor", an officially-sanctioned fundraising event for Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
's Child's Play
Child's Play (charity)
Child's Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins founded Child's Play in 2003 to improve the lives of sick children by...
in which they dedicate a special area of the bar to playing the video games Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Proceeds from the event go to the gaming-related charity.
More recently, an event called "Wii-mbledon" took place, in which televisions and Wii gaming consoles are set up around the bar and for a Wii tennis tournament. This event takes place around the same time as Wimbledon.