LOCAL PINBALLERS OPEN ARCADE BAR IN DOWNTOWN OGDEN
By Deann Armes
Photos by Jess Knott Photography
NEWS
The L.A.B. (Lit Arcade Bar), located at 2432 Washington Boulevard, opens for a soft launch on Saturday, November 19, at 6 p.m. serving up classic bar food, cocktails, and “all the fun quarters can buy.”
Arcade games, pinball, and a “living room” with free Nintendo 64 and Atari mixed with beer, booze, and a simple menu—chicken fingers, fried okra, sliders, and fries—creates a nostalgic playground for children of the 80s and 90s and grown-up gamers. There is a 1964 pinball machine, Donkey Kong, Skee-ball, four person Pac-Man and other retro favorites along with newer games.
Games range from fifty cents to a dollar on a card swipe system.
“Pinball is my religion,” says owner Nate Smith. He and his wife Kristy Smith, parents of four who met in Iraq during their service in the U.S. army, host and compete in pinball tournaments. Kristy started the first women’s pinball championship in the state.
The Smiths were mentored by friend and pinballer Michael Eccleston who opened Quarters Arcade Bar in Salt Lake City in 2018, the first bar of its kind in Utah. A second Quarters location opened in Sugar House this summer. L.A.B. is the third arcade bar in the state.
Nate Smith says pinball is a uniting force, bringing together diverse groups of people who may never have been associated outside their love of the game. “We’re pinball people who enjoy drinking,” he says.
After a long set of challenges, the Smiths finally secured a full liquor license for the business just two days ago. On Friday they received their first delivery of beer and spirits for the spacious bar. Now it is stocked with adult beverages and lined with bar stools, and organized with cocktail-making and ordering stations.
The large downtown space, which previously held Harley and Buck’s Restaurant, sits directly across from Peery’s Egyptian Theater and Utah Transit Authority’s new Ogden Express (OGX) station.
The L.A.B., once fully operating, will be open seven days a week from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Ages 21 and over.
