Episode 4 - The Brief History of Wedgehead

Wedgehead founders reflect on five years building Portland's curated, operator-owned pinball arcade.

Synopsis

Alan and Chris Rhodes, co-owners of Wedgehead Pinball arcade in Portland, discuss the venue's five-year history, from their first meeting through the pandemic to present day. They cover the space's renovation, their transition to free play, and their philosophy of curating diverse eras of pinball machines with minimal mods, prioritizing fair setup and playability over cosmetic enhancements.

Highlights

• Wedgehead has been operating for five years and recently celebrated their anniversary
• Chris Rhodes has been operating pinball machines for approximately 20 years before Wedgehead
• Wedgehead opened with approximately $2,000 budget (roughly 25% of typical bar/arcade startup costs)
• The summer of 2018 was spent renovating the space with friends and minimal hired help
• COVID-19 forced Wedgehead to close for approximately eight months
• Wedgehead developed a 'pod strategy' during COVID with walled-off sections, online reservations, and fogging sterilization between guests
• The transition to free play model improved business efficiency and changed customer experience positively
• Wedgehead currently has 23 pinball machines on the floor
• Chris Rhodes practiced game setup at Papa (Pittsburgh pinball venue) and learned to set machines 'super hard but fair'
• During pandemic, Chris Rhodes started renting out games to homes after location operators shut down

Entities

• Multnomah County· location
• Portland, Oregon· location
• Sandy Triangle· location
• Bump· organization
• Papa· organization
• The No· organization
• Wedgehead Pinball· organization
• Alan· person
• Chris Rhodes· person