Hometown Arcade is a small franchise of classic video arcades that opened in Norwood, Massachusetts in May 2023. It was founded by Matt Snow, his wife Shelly Bansal-Snow, and longtime friend Chris "Crit" Crone. Matt has worked in technology for his entire career and has worked for various start up companies focused on ecommerce and analytics. He is also a huge fan of pinball and retro arcade games and had a longtime dream of opening his very own classic arcade. Matt and his partners set up their arcade at the Norwood Commerce Center: a 165-year-old historic mill complex that now operates as a multipurpose campus with multiple tenants. The arcade was a success and opened the door for franchising possibilities. A second location (owned and operated by Shelly's brother Aash Bansal) opened in Bloomfield (NJ) in November 2024, a third opened at Thornes Marketplace in Northampton the same month, and a fourth is scheduled to open soon in Suffield (CT). Each location features classic arcade cabinets, pinball machines, modern gaming consoles, racing games, rail shooter games, skee-ball, foosball, bubble hockey, air hockey, arcade basketball, Dance Dance Revolution, and even Guitar Hero Arcade.
My sons and I recently visited Hometown's Northampton location while we were in town for the day. It is located in the lower level of the historic Thornes Marketplace. For $20, each customer can have unlimited play. My younger son is only 3 and was granted free admission, which is just as well because he is rather short and has trouble reaching the controls on most arcade games. The arcade has an excellent selection of classic arcade cabinets, pinball machines, and much more! I thought that it was pretty cool that they also have modern gaming consoles hooked up to TV sets: something that you don't see too often at arcades. Hometown also carries a small selection of snacks, bags of chips, cans of soda, and bottled water. While I wouldn't exactly call Hometown an "arcade bar" (something that owner Matt Snow hopes to change in the future), they do offer cans of "Hometown Arcade Ale" (American Pale Ale) which is brewed exclusively for the Northampton location by Progression Brewing Company who are right down the street. I enjoyed a can while playing some games; it was a nice, easy-drinking pale ale. We ended up staying at the arcade for two hours and had a blast the whole time. It's fun for the whole family. We look forward to returning to Hometown Arcade in Northampton (or perhaps one of their other locations) in the future! read more