WATERLOO — There's a door in Waterloo that will take you back in time.

Step through it, go down the stairs, and — if you're a child of the 1970s or '80s — you'll find yourself back in the arcades of your youth.

Amid the flashing lights and the bells and whistles, you'll find vintage video game favourites like "Donkey Kong" and "Tron," and pinball classics like "Volley" and "Xenon." There are other old-school games, too, like Skee-Ball and the table hockey-style International Shoot Out.

Welcome to the Pin Up Arcade Bar, which is as much a new venture for business partners Che Curnew and Alexis Arrowsmith as it is a hands-on museum for Curnew's ever-expanding collection of games.

"When I started, I thought I was going to buy two machines," Curnew, 44, says. "Two quickly turned into three ... It just kind of kept building."

Pin Up Arcade Bar, in a plaza at the corner of King Street and University Avenue, houses a good chunk of his collection, with about 40 games on hand. Curnew still has others, which will allow him to change the lineup.

The 3,500-square-foot venue has a bar area and lounge, with an emphasis on Ontario brews from makers like Wellington Brewery in Guelph, Redline Brewhouse in Barrie and Collingwood's Side Launch Brewing Co. The lounge, hung with framed pin-up artwork, can also be used to host live bands or DJs.

But the main attraction is the arcade, where fun fighting games like "Mortal Kombat II" and "Street Fighter II" share space with Nintendo classics like "Millipede" and "Centipede." A long row of pinball machines walks visitors through gaming history, from 1970s-era electromechanical models like Pin-Up through the '80s ("Flash Gordon") and into the '90s, with distinct advances in music and animation.

The newest pinball machines portray pop culture giants like "The Walking Dead," "Game of Thrones," and Curnew's newest game, "Guardians of the Galaxy."

"There are more companies making pinball machines right now than there were 20 years ago," Curnew says.

The arcade is open seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. The standard entry fee is $5; all of the games are on free play so there's no need to go fumbling for change. The bar also will introduce a league and planning regular tournaments.

Curnew has seen the popularity of these types of games at Guelph's Doogie's & Pablo's, the live music venue he operates with John Hall that features some pinball machines.

"There aren't a lot of places with location games," Curnew says. "Most pinball collections exist these days out of people's homes."

In the weeks since Pin Up opened, it's seen a steady stream of visitors ranging from families with children in tow, to university students. "The 19, 20-year-olds think this is retro. And you see the folks who actually remember this stuff," Curnew says with a laugh. "Fun doesn't have an age group."

And he's glad to see a younger demographic checking it out.

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"If it's just nostalgia ... we're not going to keep the hobby alive," he says. "If we don't get younger people into it, seeing it, seeing how cool and fun it is, it will disappear. And that would be really sad."