PINSPOTTING APRIL 2026

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·May 3, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

Key West venue coverage: The Dive Bar Shirt Club and Lost Boy Creations host Stern machines; Stern sponsors Q-West 2 comedy festival pop-up.

Summary

Pinball News covers two pinball venues discovered during a Key West vacation in April 2026: The Dive Bar Shirt Club (a dive bar with four recent Stern Premium machines in excellent condition) and Lost Boy Creations (a lifestyle shop with a bar featuring pinball). The article highlights Stern Pinball's sponsorship of the Q-West 2 comedy festival, including a pop-up free play arcade at Lost Boy Creations with games like Pokemon and Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye, and notes Stern's use of Insider Connected scoreboards for tournament play during the event.

Key Claims

The Dive Bar Shirt Club has four pinball games on hand, all recent Stern titles with premium options and toppers, in immaculate condition
high confidence · Direct observation by M.G. Brown during Key West visit, April 2026
Stern Pinball was a lifestyle sponsor for Q-West 2 (the second annual comedy escape weekend hosted by Brian 'Q' Quinn)
high confidence · Article states 'In addition to Stern being a lifestyle sponsor for Q-West 2'
Stern set up a pop-up free play arcade at Lost Boy Creations during Q-West 2 with Pokemon Premium and other latest Stern titles
high confidence · Direct observation; article mentions 'Stern Pinball had a pop-up free play arcade at Lost Boys with a few of Stern's latest titles, including Pokemon'
Lost Boy Creations has a pinball machine (The Uncanny X-Men Pro model) available for play
high confidence · Photo and description of machine on-site during visit
The Dive Bar Shirt Club was founded in January 2009 by Cody Shoemake and Mike Edwards
high confidence · Article states founding date and founders explicitly

Notable Quotes

“The bars send in their logos and they're applied to shirts by Shoemake; to ensure members get a unique shirt, only bars that don't sell their shirts online will be considered.”
M.G. Brown (article author, describing The Dive Bar Shirt Club operations) — Explains the curated nature of The Dive Bar Shirt Club membership model and exclusivity criteria
“For $22 a month, aficionados receive a shirt in the mail featuring the logo of a different dive bar—a watering hole that typically prides itself on its history and love of drinking—chosen by Shoemake.”
M.G. Brown (article author) — Details the subscription model and pricing of The Dive Bar Shirt Club
“Hats off to Stern Pinball for partnering with Q-West comedy escape weekend and Lost Boy Creations to bring the latest pinballs to the public.”
M.G. Brown (article author) — Endorsement of Stern's marketing/sponsorship strategy and pop-up arcade initiative
“The games were in immaculate condition and played perfectly. $1 per credit, quarters only, with change available from the bartender if needed.”
M.G. Brown (article author) — Positive assessment of venue maintenance and pricing at The Dive Bar Shirt Club
“Hopefully there will be more of this type of Stern pop-up event in the future.”
M.G. Brown (article author) — Suggests pop-up strategy is novel and well-received by the author; implies room for expansion

Entities

The Dive Bar Shirt CluborganizationLost Boy CreationsorganizationStern PinballcompanyQ-West 2eventBrian 'Q' QuinnpersonCody ShoemakepersonMike EdwardspersonM.G. BrownpersonJack DangerpersonTom Dustin

Signals

?
venue_signal: Pinball News profiled two Key West venues with pinball machines: The Dive Bar Shirt Club (four recent Stern Premium machines) and Lost Boy Creations (Uncanny X-Men Pro). Coverage highlights venue maintenance quality and game condition as positive factors.
high · Direct on-site observation and photography by M.G. Brown in April 2026; machines described as 'immaculate condition' and 'played perfectly'
?
business_signal: Stern Pinball sponsored Q-West 2 comedy escape weekend as 'lifestyle sponsor' and operated a pop-up free play arcade at Lost Boy Creations, indicating non-traditional marketing approach targeting comedy/lifestyle audiences.
high · Article explicitly states 'Stern Pinball was a lifestyle sponsor for Q-West 2' and describes pop-up arcade setup with latest titles
?
content_signal: Stern Pinball created video content series documenting Key West pinball locations via Jack Danger and crew; videos distributed across Stern's Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as 'Reels' content.
high · Article notes 'Jack Danger and crew' recorded 'a series of short videos' featuring Key West pinball sites, available on Stern social media channels
?
product_launch: Three recent Stern Pinball titles were visible at Q-West 2 pop-up: Pokemon Premium, Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye Pro, and Uncanny X-Men Pro. All machines featured premium options and toppers in both venues.
high · Photo documentation and direct observation of machines at Lost Boy Creations and The Dive Bar Shirt Club
?
community_signal: Lost Boy Creations hosts podcast 'Get Lost: A Podcast with Friends' and partners with local entertainment figures (Tom Dustin, Joe List); venue integrates lifestyle, comedy, music, and pinball as cohesive experience.

Transcript

web_scrape · $0.000

HomeSITESPINSPOTTING APRIL 2026 During our Key West (Florida, USA) 10-day vacation we found a few sites with pinball, and other surprises. To get the complete list of pinball locations in Key West, and more details, please consult the Pinball Map. The Dive Bar Shirt Club – Grub House Location: 320 Grinnell St, Key West, FL 33040 (Seaport) Phone: +1 (305) 517-6898 Website: divebarshirtclub.com/pages/bars Open daily from 11am to 11pm Please check the Pinball Map for the current game line-up. For an area that has so many bars and related entertainment, there are only a few places left in Key West that have pinball on site. One of these is which is the home of The Dive Bar Shirt Club, a monthly subscription club that sends its members T-shirts from real dive bars across the United States. Cody Shoemake and Mike Edwards founded The Dive Bar Shirt Club in January 2009. For $22 a month, aficionados receive a shirt in the mail featuring the logo of a different dive bar—a watering hole that typically prides itself on its history and love of drinking—chosen by Shoemake. The bars send in their logos and they’re applied to shirts by Shoemake; to ensure members get a unique shirt, only bars that don’t sell their shirts online will be considered. Club members celebrate a different dive bar with a limited-edition shirt each month. Once the shirts are gone, they are gone for good. Photos of ‘retired’ shirts are available for viewing on the website mentioned above. However, no membership is required to obtain the Grub House merch; hats, shirts, glassware and other assorted items are for sale at the bar. An example is the official hat of the Grub House below. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Key-West-Low-Life-1.jpg) On the ceiling of the bar they have T-shirts of the month from the past for you to admire. The public is invited to to drink at the bar or on their patio. After 5pm the bar area is restricted to patrons 18-years-old and over. The bar generally has six local beers on tap and a pair of macro-brews such as Guinness and Fat Tire. An assortment of canned and bottled popular beers and wines by the glass are also available. They have a limited food menu featuring Dive Bar Tacos (ground beef or chicken), brisket tacos, grilled burritos, and corn chips with your choice of queso or salsa. The kitchen closes at 9pm, so be aware of that. The entertainment consists of live music most weekends, a library of board games… !Grilled Burritos Choose your game …a monthly Team Jigsaw puzzle race called Puzzle and Guzzle… !Competitive jigsawing Competitive jigsawing …and, of course, pinball! !The pinballs available on our visit The pinballs available on our visit There are generally four pinball games on hand; during our visit the choices were all recent Stern titles decked out with premium options and even toppers! The games were in immaculate condition and played perfectly. $1 per credit, quarters only, with change available from the bartender if needed. We ran into these characters at The Dive Bar Shirt Club visiting Key West from Chicago! The Stern gang was on hand in Key West in support of the second annual Q-West (pronounced Quest) comedy escape weekend hosted by comedian Brian “Q” Quinn at the Key West Theatre. Quinn is the host of a cable television show called Impractical Jokers which has a growing following of 30-somethings. The ‘Escape Pass’ tickets for the event were sold out almost as soon as they went on sale at Eventbrite and cost from $500 per person (VIP access somewhat more). In addition to Stern being a lifestyle sponsor for Q-West 2, they also had a pop-up free play arcade at Lost Boys Creations just off of historic Duvall Street. More about that further on in this article. The Dive Bar Shirt Club has the previously mentioned bar area with retro-styled tables and seating from 1960s-1970s bowling alleys, etc. The bar area also has an interesting collection of antique porcelain and neon signage for you to enjoy. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Key-West-Low-Life-Girls-1.jpg) The patio area is ideal for families with young children and dogs, while the upstairs area is where the live music can be found on most weekends. Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub was a dive bar that was mostly frequented by locals and unfortunately closed in 2022. The Dive Bar Shirt Club hosts a street festival the weekend of St. Patrick’s day to remember it, with live music beginning at noon each day. !Remembering Finnegan's Wake Remembering Finnegan’s Wake The motto of the fest is “Come for the food, stay for the beer, leave with the staff”. Legend has it (unconfirmed) that Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub was where Jimmy Buffet drank his first beer in Key West. Overall we felt that The Dive Bar Shirt Club was a great place to visit during our stay in Key West. Perhaps it could be the first place to visit to set the proper party mood? The fact that they have a good selection of the latest games available to play is a welcome bonus. Lost Boy Creations Custom Adventure Outfitters, Surf and Paddle Shop Location: 417 Southard St, Key West, FL 33040 Phone: +1 (305) 741-7680 Website: lostboycreations.com 7 days a week: 9am – 9pm Lost Boy Creations is a wanderlust lifestyle goods shop with hats, men’s & women’s apparel, and one-of-a-kind items from local artists. Something that I found quite interesting is that Lost Boy Creations has their own bar! Only a few drink selections were available, but it is nice that they offer beverages for shoppers or to keep spouses entertained while the ‘other’ in the couple shops. After a certain number of adult beverages, Lost Boy’s prices probably don’t seem as onerous. Thoughtfully, drink holders were provided for the pinball games at Lost Boy. !The Uncanny X-Men Pro model The Uncanny X-Men Pro model Lost Boy Creations also has their own podcast Get Lost; A Podcast with Friends recorded in store where the latest lifestyle fashions, music and whatever comes to mind are discussed. The most recent podcast featured guest Tom Dustin who is a stand up comedian, and owner of Comedy Key West. His new film, Tom Dustin, Portrait of a Comedian, directed by fellow comedian Joe List, is showing in select theaters as of April 25. !The latest edition of Get Lost; A Podcast with Friends The Also on the podcast page are links to Rock in the Shop, a series of recordings of performances from the Lost Boy Creations ‘shop’. Lost Boy has the official Q-West 2 merch available for purchase on their website if you neglected to get yours during the Comedy Escape Weekend, or to fool your friends into thinking you had the Benjamins to attend the event in person. We were invited to the pop-up by the Stern folks and witnessed the recording of the last of a series of short videos done by Jack Danger and crew. These videos are snippets from their visits to most of the sites in Key West that have pinball. These videos are available for viewing on Stern Pinball’s Instagram, YouTube channel and Stern Pinball’s Facebook page under ‘Reels’. As mentioned previously, Stern Pinball had a ‘pop-up’ free play arcade at Lost Boys with a few of Stern’s latest titles, including Pokemon. !Pokemon Premium model Pokemon Premium model Stern set up an Insider Connected scoreboard for a high score tournament for prizes during the Comedy Escape Weekend. !Promo for the High Score Tournament Promo for the High Score Tournament !Sorry for the glare, I didn't have a polarizing filter with me Sorry for the glare, I didn’t have a polarizing filter with me Even if you didn’t manage a high score, Insider Connected members could earn a Q-West 2 IC badge just by playing. Some of the comedians involved with Q-West 2 showed up randomly at Lost Boy in-between shows, which we felt was definitely fun. Hats off to Stern Pinball for partnering with Q-West comedy escape weekend and Lost Boy Creations to bring the latest pinballs to the public. !Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye Pro model Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye Pro model Hopefully there will be more of this type of Stern pop-up event in the future. Some images used in this review were furnished by The Dive Bar Shirt Club and are used here with permission. Additional information on Quinn and the reasoning behind hosting a small comedy festival in Key West can be found in this article: entrepreneur-resources.net/brian-quinns-q-west-comedy-festival-why-capping-attendance-at-200-creates-higher-value-fan-experiences - Related Articles - More By M.G. 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