Toasting grown-up gamers

As a touring musician, Mike Maven spent a lot of time in cities away from home.

A gaming enthusiast, he found refuge among like-minded strangers at bar arcades, which are exactly what they sound like – a watering-hole, gaming-arcade hybrid. After settling down in Providence, Maven bemoaned the absence of any such place, until he decided to start one of his own.

Thus was born Shelter Arcade Bar, the city’s new bar hosting 24 arcade machines, 14 pinball machines and a bar, where patrons can choose their “potions and power-ups,” Maven explained. The booze is key.

“A big reason arcades failed was because the machines couldn’t generate enough revenue,” he said.

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Subsidized by the sale of alcohol and a light food menu, the 1980s- and 1990s-themed games will be priced at a modest 25-50 cents per game. Maven is optimistic his establishment could become a hangout for arcade enthusiasts.

Shelter Arcade’s grand opening is June 10. •

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