07/22/2020
Modern Pinball NYC is closing :(
A message from Steven Zahler, owner and co-founder:
I'm so sorry to announce that Modern Pinball NYC will be closing permanently and selling its games to the public by the end of this month (July). I want to thank everyone so much for being a part of our journey: friend and co-founder Steve Epstein (very recently passed, may he rest in peace), our customers, past and present staff, and our business partners.
Our mission was to bring pinball back in a big way to New York City and beyond. I hope we accomplished that goal. I am truly grateful and will always hold dear the experiences we had together, from casual walk-ins to party celebrations, educational science and STEM classes, museum visits, league gatherings, tournaments and more.
Unfortunately, Covid in the big expensive city was much more than our niche place could handle. We've been closed since March, and add to that the financial impact of a high-rise building next door still under construction for almost two years with its scaffolding, continuous street closures, and re-routing of vehicles and pedestrian traffic. It was a business killer for the entire street. Fortunately we lasted this long while at least 75% of the retail businesses around us either closed or changed hands since we opened in 2013. The power of pinball!
I pray that pinball stays relevant and is included at other venues and fun places for years to come. It brings so much joy to anyone lucky enough to find a machine. From the beginning, I wanted this to be a place for families and friends to enjoy TOGETHER. Unlike being social online, there is something very different and special about social activities that include pinball.
Finally, I want to say thanks for the immense outpouring of love and support from just this past Saturday when I started listing our games for sale. Your kind words and support at this challenging time have made a world of difference. To top it off, several customers purchased games they used to play non-stop at Modern and I think that's so cool. Nice to know our games will be going to loving homes as most were my hand-picked favorites :)
I wish you all good luck, safety and health now and in the future. Thank you again and pinball-on!
With Love,
Steve Zahler
Owner
Modern Pinball NYC
p.s. Sign our "guestbook" (comment below) if you have ever visited or wanted to. I would love to hear from you! Feel free to post any photos