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<\/p>\nOutside, it\u2019s one of those cold and rainy days when you forget it was ever sunny in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
But inside an old wedding hall at 1739 Venables St., next to Commercial Drive, it\u2019s just rockin\u2019.<\/p>\n
On a recent Friday afternoon, a couple of dozen people have forked over $15 or more to play pinball and video games.<\/p>\n
The interior of the old hall is dark, save for the light cast by dozens of brilliantly coloured machines, which flash as players flip away on 1970s pinball classics, like Gottlieb\u2019s Incredible Hulk and Bally\u2019s Flash Gordon.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0sound is raucous,\u00a0the\u00a0ding-ding-ding\u00a0of the pinball\u00a0machines\u00a0blending\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0pew-pew-pew and\u00a0zzt-zzt-zzt\u00a0of\u00a0video game\u00a0players\u00a0battling to the death\u00a0with\u00a0alien invaders.<\/p>\n
In the midst of all the electronic mayhem, Angelo Muro quietly buffs up the coat of wax he has applied to a vintage Evel Knievel game.<\/p>\n
To get more light, he wears a headlamp as he makes sure the machine\u2019s flippers, sling shots and saucer kickouts are working properly before he will re-insert the glass top on the game and open it up to the masses.<\/p>\n
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Machines at VanCity Pinball in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Back in his office, the energetic 42-year-old beams. The one-time electrical engineer at B.C. Hydro has been dreaming of opening his own arcade, and jumped at the chance at a two-year lease on the former wedding hall, which is slated to be demolished in a new development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great way\u00a0for\u00a0me to do a test pilot to see if this really works,\u201d said Muro. \u201cNot a huge commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two weeks in, it seems to be working out just fine, although he has been working seven days a week to get VanCity Pinball And Arcade up and running.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t do this if I didn\u2019t love it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current setup includes 65 pinball machines and about a dozen video or arcade games, almost all from his own collection of around 150 pinball machines. The oldest is from 1975, and the bulk are from the 1990s to 2010s.<\/p>\n
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Inside VanCity Pinball on Venables in Vancouver BC, March 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
Many of his other games are installed at pubs. He has already been running a pinball machine business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe newest, latest and greatest are mostly at the American Bar And Pub (on Main Street),\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve got a couple at Library Square (downtown). They\u2019ve got 10 machines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muro grew up in Coquitlam and now lives in\u00a0Burnaby, but\u00a0knows the\u00a0old hall\u00a0at Commercial and Venables well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here for many weddings,\u201d he said. \u201cI talked to my Uncle Fernando, and he\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, I got married here.\u2019 It\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muro didn\u2019t get into pinball until he was in his 20s.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friend got a machine, and that\u2019s how I got addicted,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u201cWe played for a bit, and it was fun, but nothing special. Then when something broke, we had to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
They phoned \u201cthe pinball doctor guy,\u201d who suggested they look at the boxes in back of the machine. The fix turned out to be simple \u2014 a fuse needed to be replaced.<\/p>\n
But the electronically inclined Muro became fascinated with\u00a0how the machine worked. He fixed the flashing lights on the machine, and\u00a0\u201cjust really got addicted to making stuff better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now he can tinker with the machines to his heart\u2019s content.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving my own place here, it\u2019s really fun, because it\u2019s like I can spend the extra hour just to do (an extra) 10 per cent, a little bit more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t mind,\u00a0it\u2019s really just fun to clean and tune the machines\u00a0up to\u00a0the way I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sign inside VanCity Pinball on Venables in Vancouver BC.<\/p>\n
His wife Alicia is involved in the business as well. She was the one who suggested players pay for time rather than constantly plug the machine with money, which is the traditional method.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe likes the older machines, and they can be really tough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep plugging money in over and over is really frustrating. She wanted something that is more open to beginners, (where) you don\u2019t have to worry about pumping money into a machine. So it\u2019s just a flat rate, and people don\u2019t have to worry once they pay. They just walk in and they enjoy everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alicia also helped with the decor. She did the giant \u201cVanCity Pinball And Arcade\u201d graffiti painting inside the hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an asterisk \u2026 she used AI to help her,\u201d said Muro. \u201cWe had inspiration from (the game) Attack From Mars and (artist) Brian Allen.\u201d<\/p>\n
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