Pinball Pete’s, 220 Albert Ave., got its start in the garage of Ted Arnold and his brothers, and has undergone many moves and changes since. Today, the East Lansing location offers skeeball, pool, video games and of course, pinball.
Ted Arnold and his brothers started Pinball Pete’s, 220 Albert Ave., in the early ‘70s with a single pinball machine in their parents’ garage. The brothers pooled their money to buy a machine, and it wasn’t long before this garage was the neighborhood pinball hub.
“We kind of had a little neighborhood store going in our garage,” Arnold said.
The siblings opened their own arcade in Mason, Mich., but found the town too small to draw enough business. They returned to Lansing and purchased a pinball parlor, and added video games.
“Video games were a big hit in the ‘80s — you had Pac-Man on Time Magazine,” Arnold said. “We had a hallway in this location and we had 10 Pac-Man machines side-by-side and there would be people waiting to play.”
And although Arnold refers to those as the golden years, the arcade still allows patrons to play classic games.
“We kind of provide an atmosphere for people to socialize still,” Arnold said.
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