Pinball Arcade Coming to Downtown Joliet

A new business will bring a blast from the past to downtown Joliet.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday gave the OK for Game Show Pinball Arcade to open at 215 N. Chicago St., pending approval by Joliet police, fire and building inspectors.

Mayor Tom Giarrante said the business will have 20 to 25 vintage pinball machines, five video arcade machines, electro-mechanical driving machines, foosball tables and air hockey tables.

"They want to open as soon as possible," Giarrante said of the business, which will initially be open from 3 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

If things go well, Game Show would expand its hours to also be open from 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, the mayor said.

Owner Chris Czarnowski has requested an 18-month waiver of the city's annual $50 per machine fee for amusement vending devices. The waiver will be covered under a TIF agreement with the city.

In documents submitted to the city, Game Show's owners pointed out that some of the top pinball players in the world live in the Chicago area, including the youngest Top 25 ranked player, Plainfield 16-year-old Joshua Henderson.

The business says it wants to bring the resurgence of pinball to downtown Joliet, noting that pinball leagues are on the rise worldwide and three pinball arcades have opened in the City of Chicago in the last year and a half.

Game Show also says it could host tournaments to bring additional visitors to downtown Joliet.