Baker Bros. BBQ unveils its pinball lounge

As owner of Baker Brothers BBQ, Drew Baker is always looking for different ways to liven up his restaurant on Main Street in Downtown Jackson.

He officially unveiled on Feb. 21 the new pinball lounge inside the restaurant behind the stage where musical acts play on weekend nights and sometimes during lunch hour.

“Pinball is something that’s coming back in your bigger metro areas, and I went up to Louisville a few months ago and saw place that was full of pinball machines,” Baker said. “And I thought it would be good to have something like that here in Jackson.”

Baker has a buddy named Chip Scott who has connections with a man named David Yopp in Memphis who has a large number of pinball machines that he supplies to various places, maintains them and swaps them out to keep the merchandise fresh.

“People are getting interested in pinball again, and I’ve got a dead space here begging to be used,” Baker said. “So why not bring it here?”

The pinball lounge currently has six machines in it with a separate bar and a few tables for people to enjoy drinks and food while playing.

Baker said there’s already a pinball tournament in the works for April 1.

“Pinball tournaments are a thing that happens, and David is setting this one up for us,” Baker said. “But people register and come in and play for prizes like any other kind of tournament.”

There’s a number of posters and other memorabilia on the wall of the lounge mostly from historical music posters advertising Elvis Presley and other legendary artists, but there are a few other pop culture references on the wall including comic books and television painting instructor Bob Ross.

The pinball play prices range from a quarter for the more basic games to $1 for the newer games that have more bells, whistles and lights that use more energy. There’s a change machine in the lounge for anyone that brings cash to the lounge.

On the night of the big unveiling party, it was decorated with a Mardi Gras theme with beads hanging off light fixtures and moon pies and other things on the tables.

"We may keep some of that because I think it looks nice up there,” Baker said about the hanging beads. “But we’re still working the décor out in here.

“Chip and his wife Ambre and doing a lot with helping me out with that. This is just a place to relax and have some fun playing pinball and maybe enjoy some drinks and barbecue in the process.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news