FIVE & DIME

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Aug 31, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

New Evanston venue Five & Dime opens with three pinball machines and casual gaming focus.

Summary

Five & Dime is a newly opened restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue in Evanston, Illinois (August 2016) featuring three well-maintained pinball machines: Bally's Radical!, Data East's Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Stern's Kiss Premium. The venue offers rooftop dining, various lawn games, and cocktails, positioning itself as a family-friendly location attracting both adult and pre-teen pinball players.

Key Claims

Five & Dime features three pinball machines in very good condition with clean playfields
high confidence · Direct venue inspection and description; author verified machine condition and pricing
The free game threshold on Radical! was achievable by someone with average playing skills
medium confidence · Author's personal assessment of difficulty settings; subjective observation
Young children at the venue were unfamiliar with multiplayer pinball functionality
medium confidence · Author conversed with a pre-teen player who stated lack of awareness of multiplayer feature
The Negroni Frozen Slushy is usually not available until a couple hours after opening due to machine priming requirements
medium confidence · Staff feedback regarding beverage service timing and equipment operation

Notable Quotes

“All the pinballs at Five & Dime are in very good condition, fully functioning with CLEAN playfields.”
Review Author — Sets tone for positive venue assessment; emphasizes machine maintenance quality
“It is a bit more challenging than the other two, but very playable.”
Review Author — Describes Kiss Premium difficulty relative to other machines; indicates accessibility for casual players
“One boy I talked to had no idea that there was a way for more than one person to play the same machine.”
Review Author — Highlights venue's appeal to young/new pinball players unfamiliar with traditional multiplayer mechanics
“I would say that Five & Dime is a great new addition to the pinball scene in the Northern Chicago 'burbs. It most likely will only get better as time goes on.”
Review Author — Concluding positive assessment positioning venue as valuable addition to regional pinball community

Entities

Five & DimelocationEvanston, IllinoislocationRadical!gameThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and FriendsgameKiss PremiumgameBallycompanyData EastcompanySterncompanyLulu's Dim Sum and Then SumorganizationDiablo Tacoorganization

Signals

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community_signal: Five & Dime positions itself as family-friendly pinball venue attracting pre-teen players; venue successfully introducing new generation to pinball mechanics
high · Author observed pre-teen children playing pinballs and conversed with young player unfamiliar with multiplayer functionality; described children 'clutching a Ziploc bag of change waiting to play'
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market_signal: New venue addition to Northern Chicago suburbs pinball scene; represents expansion of pinball accessibility beyond traditional bar/arcade venues into combination restaurant/entertainment model
high · Article explicitly describes Five & Dime as 'one of the newest places in the northern Chicagoland suburbs that has pinball machines' and 'a great new addition to the pinball scene'

Topics

New Venue OpeningprimaryMachine Condition and MaintenanceprimaryLocation/Venue FeatureprimaryCasual/Family Pinball AccesssecondaryPricing StructuresecondaryVenue Amenities and Food Servicesecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Review is consistently favorable toward venue; author recognizes operational growing pains (service, menu maturity) but maintains optimistic outlook; praises machine condition, family-friendly atmosphere, and potential for improvement

Transcript

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Date: August 2016 Location: 1026 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201, USA Five & Dime in the west downtown Evanston area is a brand-spanking new combination restaurant, bar and entertainment center on Davis Street, just steps from both the Metra Rail and the CTA Purple Line. Five & Dime’s rooftop dining and game room is one of the newest places in the northern Chicagoland suburbs that has pinball machines. ![A panorama photo of the neo-industrial 'inside' seating](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/five-and-dime/1a.jpg) A panorama photo of the neo-industrial ‘inside’ seating Outside seating has picnic tables and round wire mesh tables that are cozy for four. All the pinballs at Five & Dime are in very good condition, fully functioning with CLEAN playfields. Radical! (Bally) is set to 50 cents for one play, 75 cents for two plays, and I felt that the free game threshold was quite achievable by someone with average playing skills. ![Bally's Radical!](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/five-and-dime/3a.jpg) Bally’s Radical! The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (Data East) is also in excellent shape and plays well. $1/1 play or $2/3 plays; bills only. ![Data East's The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/five-and-dime/4a.jpg) Data East’s Kiss Premium (Stern) is also set to $1/1 and $2/3 plays. It is a bit more challenging than the other two, but very playable. ![Stern's Kiss Premium](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/five-and-dime/2a.jpg) Stern’s Kiss Premium If you want a break from pinball (say what??), Five & Dime has other games for you to enjoy on the rooftop area: Jumbo Connect 4, Ping Pong, Foosball, Baggo/Bags/Cornhole and Jumbo Jenga. The menu at Five & Dime appears to be somewhat of a work-in-progress with a relatively small number of items. In spite of that we both were able to find food items that we wanted to try. I got the impression that when the affiliate businesses Lulu’s Dim Sum and Then Sum and Diablo Taco are relaunched (in the same building, on the first floor) that the menu for Five & Dime will change. We feel that the biggest value on the menu is the chips and guacamole. The service is somewhat of a work-in-progress too – not horrible by any means, but not yet as polished and effortless as places that have been in business for many years. I have faith that given a few more weeks they will be up-to-speed. The key thing is that the servers and hostesses seemed to have a friendly and outgoing attitude which is certainly pleasant to see. Since this is primarily a drinking establishment, I feel a few words about the drinks menu are in order. The OG Margarita is delicious (it’s hard to drink only one), the Negroni Frozen Slushy is well regarded but usually not available until a couple hours after opening time; apparently the slushy machine needs to be primed or something. The Five & Dime beer list includes Evanston’s Sketchbook Brewery’s Et Tu Yuzu citrus spiked sasion, in addition to the usual suspects in bottles and cans. One interesting thing that I was glad to see is pre-teen young people playing the pinballs. One boy I talked to had no idea that there was a way for more than one person to play the same machine. Aside from that, it was nice to see kids clutching a Ziploc bag of change waiting to play. Some of the ‘kids’ at Five & Dime had unusual playing styles as shown by this photo. ![Playing Kiss](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/five-and-dime/5a.jpg) Playing Kiss I would say that Five & Dime is a great new addition to the pinball scene in the Northern Chicago ‘burbs. It most likely will only get better as time goes on.