In a large industrial building lies a not so secret club that is bringing the thrill of playing the silver ball back to Victoria.
The Powerhouse Pinball Club is a member-only drop-in pinball venue located in the Powerhouse building at 2110 Store St. The club, which just opened, has a dozen physically distanced pinball machines inside and allows a maximum of 30 people inside the building at one time.
“In order to keep pinball in Victoria alive we wanted to start a club,” says Steve Webb, founder of Powerhouse Pinball Club founder and Quazar Arcade owner. “You can come down with your yearly membership and buy some tokens and play some of these pinball machines.
Powerhouse Pinball Club is members-only because the Powerhouse building’s current zoning designation does not permit public assembly, but allows for the operation of private clubs.
Webb’s Quazar arcade has, with the exception of private rentals, been close since March. The closure left fans of the colourful game looking for a new home.
“Realistically when we looked at making that arcade COVID friendly in spacing the machines out, it ceased to look like an arcade anymore,” Webb says regarding Quazar’s.
Webb’s printing company rents out the newly renovated Powerhouse building, but when it became clear reorganizing Quazar’s wouldn’t be possible, a spare storage room made the perfect club house.
“I think these pinball players are getting pretty rusty without playing for six months so [it’ll] give them the chance to enjoy their hobbies,” says Webb.
Before the pandemic hit, pinball was experiencing a rapid resurgence in Victoria, with Quazar’s leagues filled with participants.
Now that Powerhouse is up and running, Webb thinks it won’t be long before the club takes off.
“Pinball is at an interesting point, it’s growing,” says Webb. “I think right when COVID hit we were seeing a massive uptick in interest and there were also a lot of people who were being exposed to pinball for the very first time,” Webb adds.
Members can book a time between 1 and 9 p.m. on Saturdays to hit up the machines. There is a membership fee of $10. To learn more about Powerhouse Pinball, or to become a member, visit powerhousepinball.com.
Powerhouse Pinball Club, located on Store Street, features a dozen pinball machines. (Cole Sorenson/CHEK)
Cole Sorenson
