The Pinshack was a classic amusement arcade that opened in East Hampton, Connecticut in October 2022. It was founded by Bryan Joy. A mechanical engineer by trade, Joy worked for an electronics repair business serving Wall Street clients for a number of years. Eventually he began to repair arcade games on the side, as well as buying used arcade games on eBay to repair and then re-sell. When the pandemic hit, Joy decided to quit his full-time job and open his own business which he named "JD Pinball". He completely refurbished about 10 machines per year, repaired another 50 machines annually, and also rented out machines for private parties and corporate events. When Joy saw that people were looking for more activities to do during the pandemic, he decided to open his own arcade which featured about 40 games that he had fixed up. Located in an old industrial building, the Pinshack featured classic arcade cabinets, pinball machines, racing games, rail shooter games, skee-ball, shuffle alley bowling, and even Guitar Hero Arcade. Customers were charged $15 each for unlimited free play. Following a serious heart attack and other associated health issues, Joy made the decision to close down the Pinshack. The arcade's last day in business was February 21, 2026.
My older son and I stopped at the Pinshack on their final day in business. It's unfortunate because I only just heard about this arcade's existence maybe a month or so earlier, and then not long after I heard that it was closing. My son and I wanted to get one visit in before they closed their doors for good. Owner Bryan Joy greeted us as we entered; he seemed very friendly. There was a decent sized crowd there for one last day of arcade fun. I really liked that there was a nice balance of different game types: classic arcade cabinets, pinball machines, racing games, etc. My son loves racing games and he spent most of our visit enjoying a "Road Burners" motorcycle racing game. It was pure bliss for him. I don't usually stay at a single game for too long, so I was sampling a little bit of everything. I did spend a good deal of time playing "Tic Tac Strike" shuffle alley bowling, as I had never seen it before and it was a lot of fun. My son and I ended up staying for close to 3 hours. It's too bad that the Pinshack closed right after our visit, as I would have definitely come back here again and again. The question on my mind is: what's going to happen to all of those machines? Will a new owner step in to continue running the Pinshack? Only time will tell. read more