Salem's Bit Bar Opens In New Derby Street Location

SALEM, MA — Salem's Bit Bar owners proclaimed they were open for business on Thursday after months of planning, crowdsourcing, moving games and inquiries about when the quirky arcade bar would put the pinballs in motion in its new Derby Street location.

"We’ve received one or two inquiries about when we are reopening," owners posted on the bar's Facebook page. "It's time!"

Owners said Bit Bar will be open from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays. The bar is not open this Sunday.

Food service will require a table reservation through the end of October. Reservations can be made here.

The arcade bar, which battled to the state to stay open during parts of the coronavirus health crisis, said in March it was packing up the games from its old location to move into the new space.

To help facilitate the move, Bit Bar solicited contributions through a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising the initial goal of $25,666 to go toward the costs of additional furniture, interior work and more games.

The bar wound up doubling that with a tally of $52,185 through a unique "rewards" program for donations.

For instance, a $30 token punch card was offered for a $25 donation, a $60 token punch card for a

$50 donation, a $150 t0ken punch card, T-shirt and sticker for a $100 donation and a "tokens for life" membership card, T-shirt and stickers for a $250 donation.

For $1,400 — the amount of the federal stimulus checks being sent out this spring — donors could "Help Stimulate Bit Bar" and name the game by selecting an arcade game to be located at Bit Bar for at least two years with a personalized plaque placed next to the game, a signed piece of Bit Bar game memorabilia and some choice Bit Bar artwork.

Owners said when they launched the funding campaign they planned to open in September 2021 and that contributors would have two years to redeem the rewards.

GoFundMe is a Patch partner

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)