Two-Bit’s Retro Arcade
Two Bit’s Retro-Arcade smells like a mix between dirty gym clothes and a fraternity house that has not been cleaned for decades. It is located in the middle of Essex Street in Manhattan’s historic Lower East Side, and has the same standing shell structure that has been around since the notorious tenement days of the area. The space which serves as both an old-fashioned arcade and bar contains about twenty vintage video game stands, a full bar, and three pinball machines. This unique concept made its debut on December 6, 2012 and according to the current Manager Rob Woods, “We have had a pretty successful first year and we’re definitely ready to celebrate our one-year anniversary.”
Woods joined the staff of one full-time and two part-time employees around March of 2013. The owner of Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade, Perry Doustan, who flirtatiously would not reveal his age, looked about fifty-eight. He had sagging skin and facial features that inevitably revealed years of cigarette smoking, drug use, and partying. On the right side of his neck was an illegible tattoo with a name in script and a diamond figure. Doustan had owned bars most of his adult life but took a break after working “regular day jobs” for about 10 years, according to Woods.
The bar is currently awaiting the approval of its full liquor license but proudly serves old-fashioned malt liquor, which is unavailable at any of the twenty-four establishments that serve liquor in a three-block radius. There is a chalk board outside the space with the words, “MALT LIQUOR MONDAY, WE HAVE 40’s 21+ ID FOOTBALL.” However according to the bartender who calls himself “Boogie” and “Pepe”, the same sign stands outside throughout the week.
The best-selling drinks are the beers, “Yeah dudes love coming in here to grab a brooski,” Boogie said, “And unwind after a long day of working in those (…) uptight offices, but I mean the malts are pretty good anyways and sell like crazy.” He was unable to estimate the amount of beers they sell in one night but confirmed that Fridays and Saturdays are the bar’s best nights. Boogie alluded to the fact that the revenue for the bar since it’s opening is coming to about $400,000 but he also seemed unsure but confident.
The average patron at Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade varies from what looked like upper-middle class white men in suits, to local urban males dressed in oversized comic-book themed t-shirts roughly between the ages of fourteen and fifty, of various ethnicities.
According to the 2010 Census, the total population from East Houston to Rivington between Clinton and Allen streets is 4,384, with 2,288 (52.19%) people identifying as male. Additionally, 2,732 (60.82%) people classified themselves as white alone. In the same four block radius, 149 (3.32%) people identified as Black or African American, 16 (0.36%) identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, while 1,029 (22.91%) identified as Asian. Two-Bit’s Retro-Arcade is seven short blocks away from Canal Street that is home to Manhattan’s Asian-American population, and more commonly referred to as Chinatown.
Three stand-up pinball machines are located next to each other in the front of the bar and they each have different themes and titles. The one closest to the door has Metallica-memorabilia and plays one of the hard-rock band’s biggest hit, “Enter Sandman” when the player scores a point. Another is Terminator 3-themed and the third is called “Fun-House”. Woods explained that after the bar, these games bring in the most money. Patrons are able to insert their own money into machines and they are emptied out each night.
Other games lined throughout the bar consist of games that are essentially extinct like Super-Spirit, Paper Boy, Pac-Man, and Mortal Combat. After walking into Two-Bit’s Retro Arcade one patron named Joey who was visiting for the first time exclaimed, “Holy sh*t this is such a rad place I can’t wait to come back here with my boys!
Slideshow: Two-Bit’s