Player 2 Arcade Bar

Prior to COVID-19, I followed the development of this bar/restaurant/arcade so closely that I had every post they ever made automatically filtered to the top of my facebook feed. I wanted nothing more than to have a good beer over a game of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with some friends, and occasionally treat myself to a video game themed burger. I worried for them as the pandemic hit and slowed progress. I was concerned that they would never open at all-- or worse, fail entirely.

That hasn’t been the case. For two weekends straight, my husband and I have visited their Green Bay location during their slow hours to take in some vintage games and have a local craft beer while we’re playing games that harken us back to our childhoods. I want so much to further support them, but with the rise of COVID-19 pushing Green Bay higher and higher up the list of outbreak cities, our last trip may have been the last one for a while. So let me tell you about Player 2.​

The first floor is largely pinball machines, dotted with skee ball consoles and a giant screen for some Smash Brothers. The bar is located toward the back of all of this, and there you can order food and drink as well as pick up your tokens for the machines. You can get a lot of play out of them for just a five dollar cup of tokens. 

I haven’t had much to eat there since the visits were never entirely about the food for us, but I can tell you that they’ve got some interesting options available. A literal cup of bacon is on their appetizer menu for you to carry around and snack on during gameplay if you like, though I didn’t see this going on during either visit. Most of the patrons were aware of trying to keep their exposures and risks to others as minimal as possible, so food stayed at the tables when there was food being had.

I’m a huge fan of their fries-- among the crispiest I’ve had in town due to the batter they apply before they go in the fryer. I ordered two platters of them alone during the course of our short time playing games. I know that my husband and I will be back there before the end of the month due to their October burger special that literally had my husband texting me,” whoa whoa whoa whoa what what what the fuck.”

Given the current state of Green Bay in its fight against the pandemic, a day in an arcade may not sound like the most appealing nor safest option for us to do right now. The good news is that you can support them by ordering delivery through their own online ordering system. Sanitizing stations are available for patrons on both floors of the arcade, and with the number of game options available, it’s easy to keep your own distance from others out there.

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