FIVE & DIME

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

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

New Evanston bar/restaurant Five & Dime opens rooftop pinball arcade with well-maintained classic machines.

Summary

Five & Dime is a newly opened (August 2016) restaurant, bar, and entertainment center in Evanston, Illinois, featuring three pinball machines (Radical!, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and KISS (Premium)) in excellent condition on its rooftop game room. The venue offers food, drinks, and other games like cornhole and foosball, with friendly service still in early-stage polish. The author notes positive signs including young players discovering pinball for the first time.

Key Claims

Five & Dime opened in August 2016 at 1026 Davis St, Evanston, IL with three playable pinball machines
high confidence · Article header and venue description
All pinball machines at Five & Dime are in very good condition with clean playfields
high confidence · Direct observation stated in article body
Radical! is priced at 50 cents for one play, 75 cents for two plays, with achievable free game threshold
high confidence · Specific pricing details provided in article
Five & Dime is located steps from Metra Rail and CTA Purple Line
high confidence · Venue location description
KISS (Premium) was observed being played by young children with unusual playing styles
high confidence · Photo caption and author observation

Notable Quotes

“All the pinballs at Five & Dime are in very good condition, fully functioning with CLEAN playfields. Radical!”
[name withheld pending review] — Establishes machine quality as a key positive aspect of the venue
“One boy I talked to had no idea that there was a way for more than one person to play the same machine.”
[name withheld pending review] — Highlights introduction of pinball to new, young players unfamiliar with the hobby
“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.”
[name withheld pending review] — Final assessment emphasizing positive outlook for the venue's future

Entities

Five & DimeproductEvanston, IllinoisproductRadical!gameAdventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friendsgame KISS (Premium)game BallycompanyData EastcompanyStern PinballcompanyLulu's Dim Sum and Then SumproductDiablo Tacoproduct

Signals

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venue_signal: Five & Dime opened as a new pinball arcade/bar venue in Evanston, Illinois in August 2016, expanding pinball availability in the Northern Chicago suburbs
high · Article explicitly states 'brand-spanking new combination restaurant, bar and entertainment center' with opening date of August 2016
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operational_signal: Venue demonstrates high standards for pinball machine maintenance with all machines described as 'very good condition' with 'CLEAN playfields'
high · Direct venue inspection noting all pinballs 'in very good condition, fully functioning with CLEAN playfields'
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community_signal: Young players (pre-teens and children) observed playing pinball at the venue, suggesting successful introduction of pinball to new generation of players
high · Author notes 'pre-teen young people playing the pinballs' and describes children 'clutching a Ziploc bag of change waiting to play'
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market_signal: Venue uses varied pricing tiers across machines: Radical! at 50¢-75¢, others at $1-$2 for single/multiple plays, with achievable free game threshold for casual players
high · Specific pricing provided for each machine with note that Radical! free game threshold 'was quite achievable by someone with average playing skills'
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venue_signal: Venue offers diversified entertainment beyond pinball including cornhole, foosball, ping pong, Connect 4, and Jenga to attract broader audience
high · Article lists 'Jumbo Connect 4, Ping Pong, Foosball, Baggo/Bags/Cornhole and Jumbo Jenga' as available games

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

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.