Reviewed by: Pat Byington
NEW: Up-Down arcade coming soon to Urban Supply in Parkside
Arcade fans, listen up. Later this year, you’ll be able to play your favorite arcade gamesâsuch as pinball machines, skeeball, arcade video games and moreâat Alabama’s first Up-Down arcade!
Read on to learn more about Up-Down and its upcoming Birmingham location.
About Up-Down Arcade Bar
Founded by Josh Ivey, Rafe Mateer and Sam Summers in 2012, the Up-Down brand has since expanded from its first location in Des Moines, Iowa to seven cities throughout the country, including:
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Nashville, Tennessee
“The first Up-Down was in a little basement dive bar next to our music venue, but people loved it and the concept took off. We’ve been opening new locations across the Midwest as well as one in Nashville a few years ago.”
Josh Ivey, Co-Owner, Up-Down Arcade Bar
Opening a new location in Birmingham
While finishing the build-out for the recently opened Nashville location, Josh Ivey made several stops in Birmingham on his commute back to New Orleans. Here, he met with Lyndsy Yim of SRS Real Estate Partners, who filled him in on the Urban Supply development in Parkside.
“I got really excited when Lyndsy and the Orchestra Partners team shared their vision for the development. It’s a really neat building in a very popular part of town, and the development already has several great tenants. It’s definitely something we wanted to be a part of.”
Josh Ivey, Co-Owner, Up-Down
Although they do not yet have a firm date, Josh Ivey anticipates opening the Birmingham Up-Down location later this year.
What to expect at Up-Down in Birmingham
“Up-Down is an authentic arcade experience that harkens back to the arcades that a lot of us visited growing up. We have games from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, and decor is a mix of nostalgic art and posters from movies and music from that era.”
Josh Ivey, Co-Owner, Up-Down
At any Up-Down location, guests can play a huge selection of arcade games, pinball machines, skeeball alleys, vintage console games and more. In fact, Josh anticipates putting between 60 to 75 different arcade machines in the Birmingham location.
“The interior of any Up-Down is packed out wall-to-wall with gamesâand, they’re all vintage machines. We have a warehouse in Des Moines full of vintage arcade machines, and our acquisition and rehab team fixes them up before sending them out to be played on once again.”
Josh Ivey, Co-Owner, Up-Down
The best part? Every game inside Up-Down only costs a quarter to play.
In addition to games, Up-Down offers pizza by the slice as well as a robust beer selection and craft cocktails at their full bar. Once complete, the Birmingham location will have a large patio as well as an outdoor bar element.
Excited to see Up-Down open a new location in Birmingham? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know your favorite arcade game!
