Forget arcade, this Kamloops man has a vision for a ‘barcade’

A Kamloops man has a vision to open an epic third space in the city that would transport guests to a past era, and take middle-aged folks back to their childhood.

Byron Steele has a stockpile of nostalgic late 1970s and 1980s pop culture paraphernalia he has been collecting for years including hundreds of comic books, original movie posters, magazines, video games and VHS cassettes.

He currently owns more than 20 arcade games and pinball machines he purchased from around the province and brought back to life, their familiar pops and beeps ringing out in his garage.

“I had to fix some of them, I’m working on this one right now, Defender, it’s a full restoration,” he said. “I had to figure out how to fix pinball machines, both Black Knight and Bone Busters had to be fixed.”

Steele’s vision is to open a “barcade,” an arcade with a bar, that goes far beyond games and beer.

“You can’t just set up a couple of games and have some kid show up with quarters, that model died years ago, it’s not going to be a viable business model,” he said. “You have to have a draw for everyone, it has to be a destination, an experience.

“It’s about the movie posters, the old movies, retro toys and video games, like you’re actually back in the era.”

Steele has a dozen TV sets from the 80s and his plan for them illustrates the immersive experience he is passionate about creating.

“Instead of big screen TVs, you’d have 80s cabs with actual 80s programming, so you’re watching the commercials, the TV shows, everything,” he said. “On Saturday morning you can go in and get a bowl of cereal and watch Saturday morning cartoons exactly how they were.”

He envisions an educational display showing the history and evolution of video games starting with his retro Atari video games, and places to play the current games like Fortnite.

“There are video games in bars around town, but you can’t just have the games, you have to have the whole experience of the 80s,” he said. “People want the social interaction. Even gamers that have been playing for years, you know, they want to see the look of defeat in their opponent’s eyes when they’re kicking their butt instead of just listening to them shit-canning them on the internet.”

Steele was born in the Kootenays but grew up in Kamloops. He said there used to be far more third spaces where people gather, and fun places for young people to go on dates in person.

“Once upon a time there were the waterslides and Toppers Fun Town that had an arcade, go-karts and bumper boats,” he said. “There was mini golf at the hotel behind KFC that had a castle, and go-karts on the reservation, there used to be tons of things to do.

“If there was a girl involved, we’d hit the go-karts for a date or check out a few different places.”

Steele’s stock of retro technology, games and pop culture items are as numerous as the creative details of his “barcade”. He has acquaintances who share his vision, however, he needs a location and a bank roll to launch it.

“There are ‘barcades’ across the states from coast to coast and they’re making lots of money,” he said. “I have everything, it’s all here, I already have it.”