Keystone Bar & Arcade

"i've been a regular here for years, and my friends and i used to love playing pinball here, but things have taken a pretty sharp downturn in the past few months. please note that most of the five-star reviews here are talking about stuff that doesn't exist anymore: food, fun experienced bartenders, great music, a chill vibe. unless it's wednesday (trivia) the only food available downstairs now is lukewarm queso and frozen french bread pizza. on wednesdays they serve the app menu from upstairs, presumably because enough trivia folks complained about the lack of food. hot dogs are gone. that really great detroit-style pizza they were serving is gone. the vibe is strange and uncomfortable now. on thursday nights, which has always been our pinball league night, the bartender now plays very loud symphonic video game soundtrack music that alternates between sad, sleepy, and bombastic. it's certainly not what most folks want to listen to at a bar on a thursday night. the music used to be a great mix of old and new rock/indie/pop/dance/hip-hop that everyone enjoyed. people used to dance sometimes! the TVs used to show cool quirky old movies and TV shows from the 80s. i can remember a lot of fun conversations around the bar about whatever old movie was on. now one TV shows nothing but computer-animated flames. another is 24/7 Pokemon and another is usually tuned to Bravo. i see a lot of great reviews talking about Shay, Liz, Will, Maya, and Mike. none of those folks are around anymore. the fun vibe they all created down there is gone, and i'm not sure Keystone knows what it wants to be anymore, or cares. all of my efforts over the past few years to work with staff to improve the arcade/pinball side of the business have gone ignored by upper management, despite the fact that they currently don't earn any revenue from the games - i'm pretty sure that management views the arcade and pinball games as window-dressing and they aren't committed to the bar's huge potential as a destination. *to be absolutely clear: i don't blame any of the current staff downstairs for any of these issues. i think they're doing the best they can with a bad situation.* this is the first time i've left a review for Keystone, because for years now i've let my money and loyalty speak for itself. now i feel like this is the only way this message will reach the people who need to hear it. i sincerely hope that i'll be able to amend this review in a few months and give Keystone the five stars that it once deserved."

"Keystone is fun! They have karaoke and themed trivia nights. The craft cocktail menu had plenty of tasty options. Bar snacks are available and if you need more food options you can just order from Bobcat Bonnie's upstairs. We had a group 20 and they accommodated us very well. Will and the rest of the team are awesome!"

"My new favorite karaoke spot! Very conveniently located. Awesome DJ - really makes everyone feel included and his energy is fun! Cool bartenders - they make great non-alcoholic drinks! All around fun vibes! Karaoke is my favorite thing ever, so you can trust me! :)"

"Great place to go for a drink and some gaming, had new and old arcade games and pinball machines."