Boxcar Bar + Arcade — Restaurant in Greensboro

I visited Boxcar on Saturday, January 20th. I used to go to Boxcar more regularly before COVID. My son has always loved their pizza which was very good. The last few times I had gone, I had been very disappointed with the condition of the video games. I should clarify... I go specifically to play the video games as I do not drink. The Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Ms. Pac-Man have all had control issues. I went back this time because the website was showing that they now had a Q*bert machine, which is one of my favorite games.

Happy to report that Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac-Man both play well with their controls now. The Donkey Kong is not an original DK arcade stick but it does work. It is rather short and not easy to use but it does work. However, Donkey Kong Jr. was completely unplayable. It would work a little then become impossible to move. The Ms. Pac-Man machine has the difficulty turned up which changes the amount of time the ghosts stay blue when you eat a Power pellet. Most people are not that good at this game, so to make it more difficult seems like a classless moneygrab.

I did find a Qbert machine. It was a little shorter than a normal Qbert arcade cabinet. The first thing I realized when starting to play was that this was not an original Qbert joystick. This is a major, MAJOR issue for this game. Qbert should have a 4 way joystick that is rotated 45° so that you can only move on the diagonals. This machine has an 8 way joystick that you can push in any direction but only moves Q*bert on the diagonals, which means the game can misread the movements you make with the joystick. I am pretty sure this is just a MAME machine not an original arcade cabinet, which would play the exact same if it had proper controls.

I am giving the food a 5 star based on past experiences because I did not eat this time. The overall atmosphere is nostalgic, and in my opinion very well done.

The Arcade part is a huge let down. They do have a nice selection of games and pinball machines. My grievance is management at Boxcar does not seem to care about providing customers with a truly special experience of visiting these games from yesteryear by taking care of their machines. I believe management thinks that most people aren't good enough to know they are being ripped off with damaged machines so why bother to fix them. I'm not gonna lie... This breaks my heart. I wish there was a true gamers arcade in the area that provided customers quality machines to try to beat great scores...

On Sunday February 23, 2025 the Event Space (that is truly a best kept secret) at Boxcar Bar & Arcade in Downtown Greensboro peaked the imagination of turning a garage space into an amazing place! Cierra & the Boxcar Bar & Arcade Crew ‘raised the bar’ when it comes to professionalism, preparation, and presentation! I met with Cierra in mid-January 2025. I explained that I wanted to host a grande’ Co-Ed baby shower for our expectant parents Vincent & Vatai which catered to Men, Women & Children. I shared my vision and the fact that I have a TYPE-A personality, when it comes to organization, timeliness, professionalism, structure and setting an atmosphere for fun, fellowship, food, dining, drinking (non-alcoholic or alcoholic) and providing beverages based on personal preference. I believe in holding people accountable. She had the option of saying ‘No’ you may want to find someone else: BUT , she said YES! We met two more times and I emphasized the importance and the impact of this event. I wanted the WOW factor to be primary focus, and did not want to be Underwhelmed! I expressed the vision I had, met with Cierra (Event Organizer) at Boxcar 3 days prior to this event, and I must say She (Cierra & the Boxcar Bar & Arcade Crew) DELIVERED! They understood the ASSIGNMENT! In addition to selecting Boxcar’s menu of various types and styles of Pizzas, Hummus, Spinach Dips, Desserts and Carbonated drinks and juices; I hired two outside caterers (Harbor One - High Point, N.C. Mrs. Veronica (owner) to do a presentation of Mock-Tails, Fruits, Charcuterie Boards of Various Meats, Sandwiches , Fruits, etc;) respecting the importance of not violating duplicating the menu of foods provided by Boxcar Bar & Arcades). KMG Catering (owner- Herbie Streater) provided his famous wings with his own version of HIS secret sauce to enhance the already amazing array of delicious delights. The WINGS were a HIT! Boxcar WOW! Harbor One HIT it out the Park and for those who attended this event Thank you for your comments , compliments, and attendance. Great Food, Great FAMILY & FRIENDS, Colleagues and Great Music selections (Tristan, Vatai, & Mommy) 😂🤣😂🤣😂 and Cierra brought it...

Nice place and maybe it would have been better on a non busy night but several things rubbed me the wrong way. First, while collecting the tokens from a. Arcade, the attendant( or whatever you called them threw my drink from, still almost full, away without checking to see if it was mine, I was 2 ft away playing a shooting, still in arm reach. I do appreciate them trying to keep the place clean though. Second thing was later tonight when I jump in on an arcade game. There were 2 people playing, they were both side by side on the left side. I ask the gentlemen closest to the right side if it was cool if I jump in on the character on the far right( still leaving a space between us) he said sure, moved his beer, and I jumped in, they were fighting a boss. So started playing, and nothing was said. After beating that boss, the lady who was on the far left looks up and says thank you, with a pause between the thank and you. I said no problem, I love this game. She walks away and then 2 to 3 mjns later two of the security personnel comes up to me saying they need me to move to another game and to stop bothering them( pointing and referencing the lady and guy). Now had i been trying to hold a conversation or touching on them, I would have understand going to get security getting, but it was neither. And had the security listen to my pov, or even the people who was on the arcade on my right, it wouldn't have rubbed me the wrong way. But instead, I was treated like I had done something wrong, told to leave the game that I put my money in to play( and honest it wasn't about the 25 cent token but the principle)without even hearing me out, because a white woman said I was harassing/bothering her. Even when security was telling me to move somewhere else, the couple on my right was saying I did nothing wrong. The only only conclusion I can come to with that is it was because I was a black man who a white woman said was bothering her. How the situation got resolved is what is troubling me. Having 2 security come and make me move and then 1 follow me for the next 30 mins and 3 games( tried to wait for a game to open) made me really...