By CAROLYN BROWN
Staff Writer
The Northampton location of Hometown Arcade is slated to open in November. STAFF PHOTO/CAROLYN BROWN
An arcade near Boston will soon have a new location in Northampton.
Hometown Arcade will open its third location in the basement of Thornes Marketplace this November, replacing what used to be Acme Surplus, though the exact opening date is yet to be determined. The arcade currently has two locations: its flagship location in Norwood, which opened in 2023, and a location in Bloomfield, New Jersey, which is slated to open soon.
Owner Matt Snow said that Northampton was originally not on his radar when he was thinking about opening another arcade in Massachusetts, though he was familiar with the town because he’d gone to concerts at Pearl Street as a college student. But after representatives of Thornes reached out to him with an appealing deal and “VIP treatment,” he toured the place in person and found that Thornes was “an opportunity that we couldn’t say no to.”
Jody Doele, the marketing manager of Thornes, said in an email that the management team was specifically looking for arcades to fill the space left by Acme Surplus, and Hometown Arcade was “a perfect match” for the “fun and special” vibe at Thornes.
The Northampton location of Hometown Arcade opens next month with about 50 games its collection.including “Pac-Man,” “Ms. Pac-Man,” “Pac-Man Smash,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Big Buck Hunter,” “Asteroids,” “Tekken,” “Centipede,” and “Golden Tee,” among others. STAFF PHOTO/CAROLYN BROWN
“We believe having a one of a kind, vintage arcade in the building will only add to its attractiveness. It’s always fun to see 3 generations of a family wandering around and exploring Thornes. Hometown Arcade will give that family one more special experience while visiting. Plus who doesn’t love pinball?”
The arcade will operate with a “free play” model, which means that gameplay will be unlimited with a single admission price, $20 per person, rather than a price per game. It’ll also have alcohol and snacks available to purchase, and Snow is looking to partner with a local pizza company so that guests can order in.
There will be about 50 games in the arcade’s collection. Though Snow is still finalizing the complete list, he said it will include “Pac-Man,” “Ms. Pac-Man,” “Pac-Man Smash,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Big Buck Hunter,” “Asteroids,” “Tekken,” “Centipede,” and “Golden Tee,” among others. There will also be some games available in storage to rotate through the collection, both in the event that one should break and because some may not be as popular as others.
He also noted that Northampton has a special connection to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, which grew from the now-defunct Northampton-based Mirage Studios, so the arcade will feature two different Ninja Turtles pinball games and a Ninja Turtles arcade cabinet.
The Northampton location of Hometown Arcade is slated to open in November. The arcade will operate with a “free play” model, which means that gameplay will be unlimited with a single admission price, $20 per person, rather than a price per game. STAFF PHOTO/CAROLYN BROWN
Snow plans to hold pinball tournaments through the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA,) the governing body of competitive pinball. He noted that the arcade’s proximity to Smith College will help support the growing community of women in pinball (often a male-dominated scene) and hopes to continue to host events with Belles and Chimes, an organization of pinball leagues for women.
This location will be smaller than the other two — it’s about 3,280 square feet, with a capacity of about 210 people — but Snow is confident that the foot traffic in a central location like Thornes will make up the difference.
“We’re just excited to be part of the Northampton community,” he said, “and excited to be part of the Thornes space and the Thornes community.”
Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.
