JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The familiar chirp of Pac-Man echoes across the room as LED lights dance off vintage arcade cabinets, and the clicks of pinball flippers mix with the music.
These aren’t scenes from an 1980s arcade – they’re happening right now along King Street in Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood, where two sister establishments are navigating nostalgia and nightlife to create the cocktail for community connection.
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Keg & Coin is celebrating its eighth year in December. Inside its walls are over 40 arcade machines, complemented by craft beer.
Next door sits its neighboring sibling, Dart Bar, offering an atmosphere complete with darts, pool tables, and ski ball.
“We take our love for the classic arcade games, our love for trying different craft beer, and we bring them together so we can create a place that welcomes everybody,” says Ryan Camuto, General Manager of Keg & Coin.
For Camuto, a former educator, the transition to managing Keg & Coin has been unexpectedly fulfilling.
“When I was an educator, my purpose was to educate. Now my purpose is to help create a place that’s fun for people,” he said. “Getting to see that happen day in and day out through the staff and their customer interactions is as fulfilling for me as it was before.”
Camuto said the arcade bar has become a landmark for meaningful moments in patrons’ lives and a place to foster further connections.
“We have people that have had their first date here and got engaged here,” Camuto said. “Then we have people bringing their grandkids in on early school days.”
Just steps away, Dart Bar has transformed the former Art Bar space into what Assistant Manager Ally Moyer described as “your living room but with a better bartender.”
The establishment, which recently celebrated its second anniversary, maintains the artistic spirit of its predecessor while adding new gaming elements.
“What I love about Riverside is that it has such a strong sense of community here,” Moyer said. “Dart Bar is becoming, and is really proud to be, a part of the heartbeat that keeps Riverside going.”
Both venues have discovered that games serve as natural icebreakers, especially for those seeking social connections.
“All bets are off. You just kind of get a chance to low-stakes meet people and enjoy them and appreciate what makes us different rather than hate it or be afraid of it,” Moyer explained.
And the hope from both managers is to bring people in the Riverside and broader northeast Florida and south Georgia communities into accepting spaces. They said that is what makes these places special.
“Community is the only reason places like this can exist,” Camuto said. “Otherwise, we’re just a building with a couple of arcade games. People aren’t just coming because we have arcade games and craft beer. They’re coming because of the experience they have when they walk in the door.”
Both establishments even offer organized leagues throughout the week and host various events combining games, food, and music.
Each one maintains family-friendly environments until 9 p.m., which is when the space transitions into an area for those 21 and over.