Yes, it’s pinball — but it’s not the ’70s. Take a look at this Florida cafe
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ballerz Pinball Cafe opens in Bradenton with 13 machines and arcade games.
- $10 day pass unlocks unlimited play; leaderboard tracks high scores by app.
- Cafe offers food menu with hot dogs, meatball subs and Buffalo chicken dip.
Jon-Paul Taylor’s love for pinball blossomed inside the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County when he was about 8 years old.
That passion developed into a nifty private collection. And he turned the collection into setting up pinball machines in various breweries and bars in the Tampa Bay area.
Eventually, though, Taylor wanted to open his own pinball cafe.
After meeting Eddie Pantoja in downtown Bradenton, the two began working to open Ballerz Pinball Cafe at 412 Old Main Street.
“We met at the Kava bar over here,” said Taylor, who was born in Bradenton, recounting the beginning of their friendship a few years ago. “So I had pinball machines over there, had three of them. And (Eddie) just got hooked on pinball.”
In May, Ballerz Pinball Cafe was born in downtown Bradenton. Featuring 13 different pinball machines and a few arcade video games, including Taylor’s custom-made six-player Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, their venture opened.
Ballerz Pinball Cafe opens in Bradenton
It costs $10 for a day pass to play as much as possible. You don’t need coins to operate the machines, but the name, “Ballerz” is spelled out using quarters surrounded by pennies on the bar top in the main seating area.
The other part of the bar closest to the front door contains quarters and pennies in a nondescript way.
“[Eddie] said, ‘It is called Ballerz, [so are] you a baller or not,’” Taylor said.
Each pinball game has a QR code, which can be scanned through an app that syncs with leaderboard displays hanging around the cafe. Grab a high score, and it gets logged on the leaderboard.
“And we can change (the visual leaderboard) to show you leaders for the week, for the month, for the year,” Taylor said.
Taylor said Ballerz will have pinball leagues and tournaments starting in about a month.
“Pinball is a game of skill, it’s not a game of luck,” Taylor said.
New arcade has food options
But it isn’t just about the games.
They offer hot dogs, with a variety of toppings, meatball subs and Buffalo chicken dip sandwiches, as well as various beverages.
“There’s been lots of ideas floating around the food, but right now an arcade with a hot dog is pretty nostalgic,” Taylor said.
Ballerz is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to midnight and noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
“It’s more fun to play with people at a location,” Taylor said.
For more information, visit BallerzCafe.com.
