Rusty Quarter Minneapolis

[Donkey_Kong]

This place looks nice!

http://rqarcade.com/

Anyone been there?


EDIT to ADD Video:

We had to visit after discovering this place online. Below is a really quick walk through. I had some good pics that went corrupt some how. 

This is all I had left

[chopperthedog]

It's a good thing you didn't create this thread on klov.


good day.

[yotsuya]

What Chopper said.

How you been, DK? Long time, no?

[wp34]

This place looks nice!

http://rqarcade.com/

Anyone been there?

Drama  on KLOV aside I took my family there a couple of years ago while on vacation.  We had a blast.  It was easily the kids favorite stop on our trip.  It was a bit hard to find though. As I recall there was no signage.


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[Rick]

It's a good thing you didn't create this thread on klov.

Ok. I'll bite. Why? Are these not restored originals? (That's the only reason I could see as an objection, off the top of my head.)

[wp34]

It's a good thing you didn't create this thread on klov.

Ok. I'll bite. Why? Are these not restored originals? (That's the only reason I could see as an objection, off the top of my head.)

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=289068

[Rick]

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=289068

So, people hate that an arcade was having financial difficulty, and went to a crowdfunding solution to try and keep their doors open? That's it?

[meyer980]

It is a very nice arcade, and it wasn't too hard to find (for me anyway) But the first time I tried to go there on a Saturday afternoon they were closed even though their website, the front door, and their Facebook page all had hours saying they should be open. I sat outside waiting for an hour before I gave up.

I later found out they didn't open that day because it was too hot and their AC wasn't working so I can understand that, but a sign on the front door would've been nice.

All that aside, lots of games, nice neighborhood, and seems like they get a decent crowd of people coming in.

[PL1]

EDIT: There appears to be a lot more to this story than the one-sided KLOV thread conveyed.

It appears that many of the allegations mentioned below that were made in the KLOV thread are at best questionable and should not be construed as established fact.

I apologise for taking the KLOV thread at face value and repeating the allegations here.   
[/EDIT]

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=289068

So, people hate that an arcade was having financial difficulty, and went to a crowdfunding solution to try and keep their doors open? That's it?

Read the thread closer.

The guy ignored lots of apparently good advice and got banned after he freaked out on some KLOV trolls.

He did fund-raisers to buy cabs (capital investment) for the business.

Would you think your mechanic had a viable business if he held a number of fundraisers and asked you to donate so he could buy tools (capital investment) while still charging you the standard prices to do repairs and oil changes?

He also did fund-raisers to cover the rent, while he continued to buy more games. (Can't cover the rent, but still investing in more cabs?)

Sounds like the business plan is more money-pit than money-maker.   

Personally, I wouldn't donate to keep them in business, but if you like their selection of games, by all means enjoy doing business with them while the doors are open -- and keep an eye out for the auction if/when they finally go under.


Scott

[Rick]

Read the thread closer.

Ah. See, I didn't pay attention, and didn't notice there were more pages. I'll go back and review.

The guy ignored lots of apparently good advice and got banned after he freaked out on some KLOV trolls.

He did fund-raisers to buy cabs (capital investment) for the business. Would you think your mechanic had a viable business if he held a number of fundraisers and asked you to donate so he could buy tools (capital investment) while still charging you the standard prices to do repairs and oil changes? He also did fund-raisers to cover the rent, while he continued to buy more games. (Can't cover the rent, but still investing in more cabs?) Sounds like the business plan is more money-pit than money-maker. 

Hmm. That sounds pretty dumb, to be honest. I'm probably one of the most humble guys around, when it comes to the people I feel I work for. So yeah, if people are entrusting me with their money, I'm going to invest in the smarter things that make the business stronger.

Personally, I wouldn't donate to keep them in business, but if you like their selection of games, by all means enjoy doing business with them while the doors are open -- and keep an eye out for the auction if/when they finally go under.

Speaking as a pretty nostalgic guy who still wishes for the resurgence of successful arcades, I would still be sad to see it go, regardless of how poorly managed it may be.

[Vigo]

I live in the area, and I never paid them a visit. I was pretty pumped and followed the months leading up to their opening, but that in the end is what killed my excitement. The dude kepted asking for donations to open his doors, and when I realized it was just pretty much one room, and half of the machines they advertised they would have didn't fit in the room, and were "in storage", it felt like a letdown.

There is a place not too far off called Blainbrook, and it is chocked full of pinball machines, probably 50-75, some days they are on free play. Yeah, it only has a few classic arcade machines, but it has some racing and redemption stuff. Last time I was there, I spent like 5 hours with the family, only dropped a couple dollars into machines, and the money we spent was put into a really good meal. It was a great family experience.

[meyer980]

There's also supposed to be a bar/club called The Venue, used to be called Insert Coins, in Minneapolis. It's a club/arcade. I've heard bad things since the new ownership though, like minimum drink purchases. They concentrate more on the club aspect than the arcade part.

[Defender]

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=289068

So, people hate that an arcade was having financial difficulty, and went to a crowdfunding solution to try and keep their doors open? That's it?

Read the thread closer.


The guy ignored lots of apparently good advice and got banned after he freaked out on some KLOV trolls.

** You forget to mention the YEAR PLUS trolling/bullying that went on before he finally snapped. Having FB pages hacked and personal family photos used as tools for mockery. Calling his wife fat and making jokes about appearance. 30 pages of hate, layered on hate.
"Advice" that was fiscally impossible to implement under the current circumstances. And the advice that WAS used led to the name calling of copy cat and thief

He did fund-raisers to buy cabs (capital investment) for the business.
*** COMPLETE UNTRUTH!!!! Fundraisers were for just what they said they were for. Pay back rent during turbulent times


Would you think your mechanic had a viable business if he held a number of fundraisers and asked you to donate so he could buy tools (capital investment) while still charging you the standard prices to do repairs and oil changes?
** You are repeating yourself here. Again, fundraising was encouraged by the community AND did not go to the purchase of new cabs.

He also did fund-raisers to cover the rent, while he continued to buy more games. (Can't cover the rent, but still investing in more cabs?)
** Repeating that cabinets were purchased with the funds of the fund drive will still not make it true. No new cabinets were purchased from the funds raised during the Indiegogo campaign.


Sounds like the business plan is more money-pit than money-maker.   
** In it's current location, it IS a money pit. The rent is too high for a viable arcade. This location was not originally meant to be an arcade. However the owners are locked in an unbreakable 5 year lease and are trying their best to sustain until the lease is up.




Personally, I wouldn't donate to keep them in business, but if you like their selection of games, by all means enjoy doing business with them while the doors are open -- and keep an eye out for the auction if/when they finally go under.
** NICE. You sound like 95% of the KLOV members who have a) never set foot in Rusty Quarters b) formed a lynch mob because originally they dared to try an open an arcade as a side project with several other friends. And when said friends didn't have the time to work in said project the owners liquidated their previous business to open Rusty Quarters.

Poison the well all you'd like. The truth of the matter is the owners of Rusty Quarters work 60+ hours 6 days a week and have sacrificed almost every personal possession to keep their community arcade open. And yes, when they were in danger of losing it all they reached out to their community AT THE URGING of the community that loves visiting and playing some nostalgia. Pride goeth before a fall. Sometimes you need to ask for help. Should they be punished for asking for help in a time of great need?



Scott

If anyone cares to hear the TRUE and REAL story behind Rusty Quarters Arcade, feel free to contact them directly.

[Donkey_Kong]

Wife and spent an hour here today, we both had a great time. Thanks Sage.



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[Donkey_Kong]

Sent from Tapatalk with a Nokia 1020

[PL1]

My post was not intended as an attack on anyone.

Thank you for providing the other side of the story, Defender.

For the record here, I have no dog in this fight, am not familiar with the history, and was merely reporting claims made in the linked KLOV thread.

I should have presented the information in the other thread as allegations instead of repeating it as though it was factual. 
(Updated my earlier post to warn new readers accordingly.)

The KLOV forums appear to be down at this time or I would attribute the specific claims to the individuals that made them. Dantebean in reply 19 and LyonsArcade in reply 11 of the KLOV thread were the specific sources that made the claims that I referenced.

Shortly after my last post, I went back to the KLOV thread and noticed that it was getting so bad that Tombo (one of the mods) was threatening to shut the thread down.   

The nature and tone of those pile-on posts make me even more skeptical of the claims in that thread.

The guy ignored lots of apparently good advice and got banned after he freaked out on some KLOV trolls.

** You forget to mention the YEAR PLUS trolling/bullying that went on before he finally snapped. Having FB pages hacked and personal family photos used as tools for mockery. Calling his wife fat and making jokes about appearance. 30 pages of hate, layered on hate.
"Advice" that was fiscally impossible to implement under the current circumstances. And the advice that WAS used led to the name calling of copy cat and thief

Any kind of bullying like that is absolutely unacceptable!

Source of the allegation: Dantebean, reply #19 of KLOV thread

He did fund-raisers to buy cabs (capital investment) for the business.

*** COMPLETE UNTRUTH!!!! Fundraisers were for just what they said they were for. Pay back rent during turbulent times

That was a claim made in the other thread -- if the claim is false, it is false.

Sources of the allegation:
LyonsArcade, reply #11
Dantebean, reply #19

Would you think your mechanic had a viable business if he held a number of fundraisers and asked you to donate so he could buy tools (capital investment) while still charging you the standard prices to do repairs and oil changes?

** You are repeating yourself here. Again, fundraising was encouraged by the community AND did not go to the purchase of new cabs.

I only included this example because it removes the arcade aspect and puts it in business terms.

He also did fund-raisers to cover the rent, while he continued to buy more games. (Can't cover the rent, but still investing in more cabs?)

** Repeating that cabinets were purchased with the funds of the fund drive will still not make it true. No new cabinets were purchased from the funds raised during the Indiegogo campaign.

Once again that was a claim made in the other thread -- if it is false, it is false.

Source of the allegation: Dantebean, reply #19

Sounds like the business plan is more money-pit than money-maker.   

** In it's current location, it IS a money pit. The rent is too high for a viable arcade. This location was not originally meant to be an arcade. However the owners are locked in an unbreakable 5 year lease and are trying their best to sustain until the lease is up.

Sorry to hear that.

I hope they manage to keep things running untiil they can find a better location. 

Personally, I wouldn't donate to keep them in business, but if you like their selection of games, by all means enjoy doing business with them while the doors are open -- and keep an eye out for the auction if/when they finally go under.

** NICE. You sound like 95% of the KLOV members who have a) never set foot in Rusty Quarters b) formed a lynch mob because originally they dared to try an open an arcade as a side project with several other friends. And when said friends didn't have the time to work in said project the owners liquidated their previous business to open Rusty Quarters.

Poison the well all you'd like. The truth of the matter is the owners of Rusty Quarters work 60+ hours 6 days a week and have sacrificed almost every personal possession to keep their community arcade open. And yes, when they were in danger of losing it all they reached out to their community AT THE URGING of the community that loves visiting and playing some nostalgia. Pride goeth before a fall. Sometimes you need to ask for help. Should they be punished for asking for help in a time of great need?

If anyone cares to hear the TRUE and REAL story behind Rusty Quarters Arcade, feel free to contact them directly.

I'm NOT hoping for RQ to fail, but not all businesses survive.   

Pretty sure that if it comes down to that, we'd all prefer that people other than the haters at KLOV would be at the liquidation auction.

My posts are not intended to "poison the well" and I actually did (and do) encourage people to enjoy doing business with Rusty Quarter.

Best of luck.   


Scott

[wp34]

I'm sorry to see the KLOV drama spill over here. 

Thanks for posting pics DK.  Looks like the pins that were there when we went are gone.  The games on the left-hand side look the same.  Seeing that Q*Bert makes me want to go back again.  It is a great place to take the kids.  It is well lit and you can see the entire room.

[Vigo]

Well, maybe I'll have to check it out over the next week or so. See how it is first hand. I have brought up rusty quarters to about 4-5 friends who nearby (one lives on the same street), and they were completely unaware of its existence.

[smalltownguy]

I sold them their Ms Pac.

It's a nice little arcade, but a very tough business model to keep floating when you can't cook food, don't have bathrooms, and pay literally THOUSANDS in rent.

Sage and Annie locked themselves into a multi-year lease (like more than 4 years, I believe) and tried two businesses in that space before opening RQ.

Sage did himself no favors by ignoring wise advice from folks on the KLOV forums. I'm not going to defend anything that goes on over at the KLOV forums, but I CAN tell you that the mods there wouldn't allow a lynching like he got unless it was warranted. He dug his own grave.

As I understand it, they have fallen behind again in rent, and have recently switched to a wristband program offering free play.

Good business idea, poor execution IMHO.

[Vigo]

Not trying to be callous, but WTF were they thinking signing a 4 year deal in a dumphole like that? I was thinking beforehand that they were being screwed by a landlord jacking up their rent, but if they went in there knowing what rent was, then they were destined to fail from day one. I hope they can get out of it and find a nice wide open space in an older suburb.

I read about their woes with the place not being ventilated enough to even be open in the summer. Those are usually circumstances you can get out of a contract over. I wonder if they have pushed on their landlords over that?

[Donkey_Kong]

Regardless of all the controversy, I had a blast playing those games. Many there I have not seen let alone played since the golden era. Obviously I'm not a collector (yet), like many of you guys. I would have liked to have stayed until closing, next time.

[8BitMonk]

... and there it goes.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/vgm/4174049149.html

[MTPPC]

The funniest story I remember about RQ was when sage fell asleep on the floor and didn't wake up when the cops pounded on the door. Maybe a little too much weed? Anyway, the cops smashed out his window to "check on his welfare". Another $300 down the gutter.

I was there when everyone was enthusiastically giving him help to get going and he basically pooped on all the good advice given. When he finally decided a little signage might actually help, he just stole someone else's designs. It was a sad drama from beginning to end, and KLOV hardly contributed to it.

[Brian74]

Im from Minnesota, never knew anything about it. Guess I will never get the chance too.

[opt2not]

Oh man, I'd love to have that R-type cab for $500. I'd pay that.

Also, who passes out from too much weed, to the point where you can't hear the cops banging down your door? ...unless it was laced.

[smalltownguy]

Oh man, I'd love to have that R-type cab for $500. I'd pay that.

Also, who passes out from too much weed, to the point where you can't hear the cops banging down your door? ...unless it was laced.

I've seen it. You don't want it.

[deadmoney5]

I'm from Mpls..never heard of it

Sounds like Klov has a bunch of d-bag members though

[pbj]

This thread is a good reminder of why I'm not in any "collector clubs."

 

[yotsuya]

This thread is a good reminder of why I'm not in any "collector clubs."

 

I've always liked that quote of yours: Get a group of guys together, and after 20 minutes a few of them will be trying to figure out a way to form an exclusive group.

[Well Fed Games]

Sounds like Klov has a bunch of d-bag members though

  The few I've met in person has been great (and my buy/sell transactions there have been as good as here) but yeah, online they are a bunch of jackals. The threads concerning Rusty Quarters are particularly bad.. jealousy? (Although, I have to agree with what I read there at some point about the name, quarters are made of copper-nickel, so they can't rust.)

[Vigo]

Rusty Quarters just has a better ring to it than "Pitted, Fecal-Contaminated Quarters."

[SavannahLion]

This thread is a good reminder of why I'm not in any "collector clubs."

 

Exactly the reason why I quit playing MTG and no longer collect even thew few comics I bothered with after moving. Lake Tahoe/Reno were cool guys. Sacramento is just filled with a bunch of douchbags.

[CoryBee]

This thread is a good reminder of why I'm not in any "collector clubs."

 

Exactly the reason why I quit playing MTG and no longer collect even thew few comics I bothered with after moving. Lake Tahoe/Reno were cool guys. Sacramento is just filled with a bunch of douchbags.

[CaptainMarvel]

Oh man ... Looking at the pics for that arcade just made me wax nostalgic for the days I used to spend at the SEGA CENTER in the Sherman Oaks Galleria back in the 80's.   Those were truly the days.

[SavannahLion]

This thread is a good reminder of why I'm not in any "collector clubs."

 

Exactly the reason why I quit playing MTG and no longer collect even thew few comics I bothered with after moving. Lake Tahoe/Reno were cool guys. Sacramento is just filled with a bunch of douchbags.

If you were challenged and over-ruled on simple ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- like banding rules (when they were still allowed) then you would be pissed off too.

[CoryBee]

I like sacramento though......

[SavannahLion]

I like sacramento though......

You grew up here, didn't you?

[CoryBee]

I like sacramento though......

You grew up here, didn't you?

Yes I did......