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Before there was Barcade-inspired everything—from retro gaming bars to neon-lit pinball lounges—there was one warehouse-like Williamsburg hangout where New Yorkers could sip craft beer while battling it out on Donkey Kong and Galaga.
Now, the original Barcade is entering its final countdown.
The Brooklyn arcade bar announced this week that its lease will expire in less than 1,000 days, confirming that its longtime home at 388 Union Avenue will permanently close when the lease ends. While that's still nearly three years away, the owners say they're announcing the news now to spare fans the heartbreak of realizing they missed their chance for one last game.
"[One thousand] days will go really fast," the bar wrote on Instagram, joking that they don't want to hear the familiar refrains of: "I wish I had known they were going to close!" or "I was always meaning to go there!"
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When Barcade opened on October 14, 2004, Williamsburg looked very different. The owners recall opening in what was then a gritty industrial pocket of Brooklyn, with a beer distributor next door and an empty warehouse across the street that housed an unofficial indoor skate park. More than two decades later, they say nearly all of those brick-and-wood buildings have been replaced by steel-and-glass developments, while much of the neighborhood's once-thriving nightlife has faded.
Founded by friends Paul Kermizian, Pete Langway, Kevin Beard and Scott Beard, the concept grew out of evenings spent drinking American craft beer and playing classic 1980s arcade games in Kermizian's Williamsburg loft. They quit their day jobs, maxed out their credit cards and turned a former metal shop into what would become the country's first arcade bar.
The gamble paid off: Barcade quickly earned national attention, landing on Esquire's list of the best bars in America in 2008 and later being named New York City's best bar by Foursquare in 2013. As its popularity grew, so did the concept. Today, Barcade operates multiple locations across New York and several other states, while countless arcade bars around the country trace their inspiration back to the original Brooklyn outpost. The company even adopted the tagline "The Original Arcade Bar" to distinguish itself as the trend spread nationwide.
With nearly 1,000 days remaining, there's still plenty of time to rack up a few more high scores, challenge your friends to a round of Street Fighter II and toast the place that proved craft beer and classic arcade cabinets were a perfect match. Just don't wait until someone else tells you it's closing—because this time, you've officially been warned.