By Peter Lyons Hall
When British immigrant Montague Redgrave added a spring-loaded ball shooter (or “plunger”) to a French bagatelle game in 1870, it set the stage for what later became a pinball craze that accelerated during the Depression era 1930s in the United States. And through a rollercoaster of a journey throughout several decades the pinball game is making a remarkable comeback fueled largely by three groups: Professionals in their 30s to 50s; Tech savvy Millennials; and Nostalgic families, many of whom assembled recently, with a contingent of members from both the Orange County Chamber and Greenwood Lake Chamber, to welcome the new owner of a pinball arcade to Greenwood Lake.
Randy Griesan, the new owner of Two Flips, the new pinball, gift shop, and global snack emporium in Greenwood Lake, was eager to recall his love affair with the electronic games. “I always loved going to arcades when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I was the kid that got dumped by my parents with no quarters so I spent my childhood sticking my fingers in the coin door slot. When my grandfather died of cancer, and I had to take care of my grandmother with dementia, the first thing I did as an executive decision as the householder, was to activate my first pinball machine in my grandfather’s old office. It started from there; then I realized I really liked tech and I started running some tech companies and then from there, that turned into marketing. Marketing turned into playing with home automation and other technologies. Then I worked at a school in Boonton, NJ public schools as a custodian for two years and, essentially, I gave up a pension and benefits and job stability to run my own business, collecting pinball machines, sourcing them from various places. A lot of them were in my personal collection before I even thought of placing them into an arcade at all .”
Now there are nine classic pinball machines (and a PacMan console) in the building at 73 Windermere Ave., Greenwood Lake, NY, that was earlier owned by Tepper Safran and his wife Nicola, who had named the place, Two Fools: A place that aimed to deliver foolery and fun, a place for your child’s next birthday party, even unlimited pinball and board games, together with a collection of gifts and a fun mocktail bar. But now the pinball machines have taken over and an array of worldwide snacks, beverages, ice cream, and the aroma of freshly popped popcorn that greets customers who enter the arcade. But Griesan, an Apple developer, has also rigged up some clever technology to wrist bands with bar codes and QR codes that enable the user to obtain discounts on products and services at participating local restaurants, for example, in a new way of using technology to coordinate shared marketing and loyalty programs. He has also introduced payment programs that do not charge accompanying family members who do not want to play the machines, unlike area arcades that charge a fee for “observers.”
Currently the Two Flips hours are on a pre-season schedule: closed Monday Tuesday Wednesday; Thursday, open 3 to 9pm; Friday 3 to 10pm; Saturday 11am to 10pm; and Sunday 12 to 8pm. Soon they will entertain IFPA tournaments and, in conjunction with pinball manufacturer Stern Army, a private event starting around 7:00 PM hopefully on a Sunday. To learn more about Two Flips, click or tap on TwoFlips.co, and watch for an ever developing story about this special place for entertainment in Greenwood Lake, NY.
