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All the United States New York State New York City Brooklyn Sunshine Laundromat

Sunshine Laundromat

One of New York's best collections of pinball is hidden in a secret bar in the back of this laundromat.

Brooklyn, New York

Added By
Dylan Thuras
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This laundromat is more than it seems.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
This laundromat is more than it seems.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
What appears to be a nice neighborhood laundromat with a few pinball games is so much more.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Sunshine is a fully functional laundromat.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Some laundry being laundered.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Look carefully at the washing machines in the very back…   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Through the looking glass…   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
This fortune telling chimp is waiting to tell you your future.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
The back room of the pinball bar.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Sunshine has nearly all of the top 20 pinball games in its collection.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Pinball, pinball, pinball!   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Scared Stiff is a classic voiced by famous horrorshow-hostess Elvira.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
The pinball machines regularly swap out. A new addition is this Simpsons game.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Attack from Mars featuring excellent game art.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Adam’s Family is widely considered one of the best pinball games of all time.   Dylan / Atlas Obscura User
Exterior shot of Sunshine Laundromat   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
fortune teller!   P4POPS / Atlas Obscura User
  Tao Tao Holmes / Atlas Obscura
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About

Walking past Sunshine Laundromat, one might assume that unless they had a load of dirty laundry to do there would be no reason to wander inside. You would be mistaken.

As you pass a few classic pinball machines and go through the row of washing machines, you notice a strange stack of washing machines at the very back of the laundromat. Come closer and you realize that through those back washing machine doors, it's not laundry that you see but another world. A world of pinball.

For years the Sunshine Laundromat was simply a local laundromat with an odd sense of humor. Signs outside read “Try our gourmet vegetarian washing machines and vegan dryers.” However when Peter Rose, a 42 year old lifelong New Yorker and pinball enthusiast, teamed up with the building owner's son Michael Medovoy the business began to transform. Sharing a deep love for mechanical devices in general and pinball in particular (both men had managed to cram pinball machines into their respective dorm rooms in college) they began to fill the laundromat with classic pinball machines. 

As pinball machines threatened to outnumber washing machines, Peter began working towards his lifelong dream of owning a proper pinball venue and the next phase of Sunshine Laundromat was begun. It began by transforming a 1000 square foot storage room into a working bar with a glassed in atrium. The next step was acquiring a beer and wine license. With their paperwork completed in early 2016 Sunshine became the only laundromat in New York City that can legally serve alcohol. Lastly and most importantly Peter, who maintains a collection of nearly 200 pinball machines (and services pinball machines around the city), chose which of his collection would go into the bar. He chose only the best. A pinball Valhalla was born. 

Those who push through those mysterious laundromat doors at the back of Sunshine will find themselves eyed by a fortune-telling chimp and surrounded by over 23 pinball machines, each one a classic. As Peter has said the backroom is "a pinball place that serves beer, as opposed to a bar that has pinball.” Among the collection are some very rare machines including Safe Cracker and "Big Bang Bar" which sells on Ebay for around 20k. According to Francesco La Rocca, New York's rep from the International Flipper Pinball Association, Sunshine has "all the top titles and great machines” and is "the best public venue around.”

A destination for any lover of pinball, even the bartenders are pinball pros. Bartender Alberto Santana is ranked 88th in the world by the International Flipper Pinball Association and is happy to share some advice on how to up your score. Upfront the washing machines and dryers still spin, as the laundromat still fully functions.

Related Tags

Pinball Bars Speakeasies Hidden Secret Passages Secret

Know Before You Go

The Laundromat is open 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. but the pinball backroom doesn't open until 12 p.m. Saturday and Sunday or 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dylan

Edited By

VTLemur, P4POPS, blimpcaptain

  • VTLemur
  • P4POPS
  • blimpcaptain

Published

July 27, 2016

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Sources
  • https://www.instagram.com/sunshinelaundromat
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/nyregion/brooklyn-laundromat-and-arcade-bar.html
  • http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-brooklyn-the-laundromat-as-hangout-1428972965
Sunshine Laundromat
860 Manhattan Ave
Sunshine Laundromat
Brooklyn, New York
United States
40.729329, -73.953573
Visit Website
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