The Cumberland Avenue “strip” isn’t what it used to be. Everyone I’ve read and talked to agrees that it has declined right before our eyes the last decade or so. I’ll skip all my favorite bar memories and jump right into the best new place (bar) I’ve seen there in a long time.
Ft. Sanders Yacht Club is a “barcade” that has been open since spring and seems to have enough momentum to keep it going a while. Video games have taken over the planet. I hadn’t played one in a decade and haven’t had a gaming system since the Atari 2600, but FSYC has 1980’s era video games that I can still play and not have to relearn everything. Plus there’s a bar right in the corner selling beer! The bottled selection is pretty standard but still good enough for anybody to find something they can drink, and they have 3 beers on tap. Happy hour is 12 – 9 and I think they have a $2 bottle special all the time but I could be wrong (Sierra Nevada Porter was on special last time I went). All this and more can be found on their official website. The place isn't very big. It stretches narrowly from the entry to the back patio with arcade games lined on both sides, but it is comfortable enough and has a laid back vibe.
The thing I like best about this place is that it is owned and operated by some guys who went to UT, and that it isn’t a franchise. Or a chicken or sandwich shop. And they serve beer with a gimmick that works. I definitely need to improve my skills – my 14 year old self would be embarrassed by my pathetic scores at Dig Dug, Asteroids, Galaga, Tetris and even Ms. Pacman. I sucked at them all, but there are definitely more games I want to go back and play, while drinking. At 25c a game I can afford to get blown up or eaten alive as long as I catch a buzz while it happens. And don't act like you're too good for Dig Dug! You know you want to pump those little floating bastards full of hot air til they pop, and maybe excavate some rocks to fall on the dragon.
If it weren't for Pac-Man we might have lost the damn war
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