Rivertown adds free arcade games

Whenever Rivertown Brewing Co. owner and brewer Jason Roeper finds himself in Denver, he inevitably is drawn to The 1Up, a combined craft beer bar and arcade.

It transports him back to his early days of spending hours pumping quarters into Konami’s Contra — a side-scrolling shoot'em up game.

So when Roeper decided that it was time to retool the atmosphere at the Rivertown taproom in suburban Cincinnati, he decided he wanted that nostalgic arcade feel.

"We needed to put in something cool so people are going to be excited to come in," he said.

This month, (December) Rivertown has added classic 1970s pinball machines, Mortal Combat, Street Fighter 2, House of Dead 2 and a console featuring Ms. Pacman, Galaga, Centipede, Donkey Kong and others. More games, including Contra, are on the way.

Perhaps the best part is that all the games are free. Roeper figured he makes his money on the beer and free games are a way to build a loyal customer base.

The craft beer/arcade concept is hot right now. Call it a barcade or beercade or whatever. The BottleHouse Brewery in Cleveland Heights offers pinball machines, while 16-Bit Bar + Arcade has locations in Cleveland and Columbus, and soon Cincinnati. There’s also the B Side Liquor Lounge & Arcade in Cleveland Heights.

Roeper said he’s seen plenty of parents bringing their kids to the tasting room and hanging out a little bit longer than they used to. Roeper, who is married and has children, has no problem with families visiting the brewery.

"So many parents are coming in with their kids and embrace it," he said. "I don’t think hiding alcohol from kids is a good thing. If you teach them to respect it and they grow up around it, they don’t abuse it."

And sure, he’s fine with the kids encouraging the parents to head over to the brewery so they can play a few free games.

Roeper admitted that he will be drawn to the Contra game once it arrives.

"I’ve already found myself downloading the cheat codes," he said with a laugh.