For those of us who like to let loose and crack a few brews after a long day of work or class, your local bars can offer you a great place to blow off some steam and unwind. The classic dive bar is usually the venue to do these things, but bars have been changing lately. More and more are creating fun new experiences to differentiate themselves from their competition. The best and newest trend is a hybrid of a bar and an arcade, aka, “Barcade.”
Remember those times when you were a kid, and your parents took you to an arcade? Maybe it was a local arcade, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Andretti’s, Dave and Buster’s or even your local bowling alley’s arcade room, regardless, almost everyone has a blast while playing arcade games. Mix that with Booze and BOOM! You’ve got yourself a Barcade. In Tuscaloosa, we are lucky enough to have two!
Loosa Brews
Not only does Loosa Brews have the best and largest craft beer selection in Tuscaloosa, they also have some awesome arcade games including a claw machine and my personal favorite, Pinball. There is nothing better than having an incredible glass of craft beer, while simultaneously putting in some work on one of the pinball machines at Loosa Brews.
The Wheelhouse Pub
Like the late, great Billy Mays once said, “But wait! There’s more!” The Wheelhouse Pub is Tuscaloosa’s other premiere Barcade. The Wheelhouse shows sporting events, has great drink deals and even makes pizza. It is an all around great bar, but the best part is the games. The Wheelhouse Pub has two basketball arcade machines, a Guitar Hero machine, but most importantly, Ski Ball. Tossing those ski balls into the hole while sipping on a beer is the closest thing to Cornhole that we College Football maniacs can play in the offseason. It only costs a quarter and it’s a blast.
There are so many games to be played at the Barcade. Say “Cheers!” with some beers and I’ll see you there!