Pinball Hall of Fame to host weekly food truck gathering
The Pinball Hall of Fame is adding food trucks to its list of attractions. Starting Saturday, the popular tourist spot will invite three trucks per week into its parking lot. Organizers tried out the idea this past Saturday with a single truck.
“It perks up the whole experience,” the hall’s founder Tim Arnold said on Saturday, standing in front of the Signora Pizza truck.
“Things like pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and amusement games have always gone together,” he continued. “Look at the Fonz, and ‘Happy Days.’ They used to have a pinball machine in the drive-in!”
Arnold is hoping the weekly gatherings will help “get the word out” that the museum is still welcoming customers on East Tropicana Avenue, as construction continues on a new Las Vegas Boulevard location that’s expected to open in the spring. He also sees it as a service to his customers, who often find themselves waiting in line to enter under COVID-related occupancy restrictions.
“We have lines some days, simply because we’re now operating at 25 percent of our rated capacity,” he explains.
Saturday’s trial run featured pizza and Neapolitan street food from Floriana Pastore, four-time World Pizza Champion and owner/operator of the Signora Pizza truck.
“It’s a very good idea, because people can eat and they can play in the same (place),” she said of the setup.
Moreover, she says, her food is a great fit for the location.
“Everybody loves pizza: kids, middle-aged, old people. And pinball is the same.”
The food truck event is expected to run from 2-8 p.m. each Saturday in the lot at 1610 E. Tropicana Ave. The lineup is expected to rotate weekly, curated by The Feast of Friends (the same promoters who produced the Vegas Unstripped festivals in the Arts District). In addition to providing his customers with delicious food, Arnold hopes truck owners will benefit as well.
“I have a lot of sympathy for food truck and restaurant owners right now,” he explains. “They’re in a terrible, terrible situation money-wise. And if they can make a few bucks in my parking lot, I’m all for it.”
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.
