The Pinball Arcade Museum, located at 2313 Central Ave., in St. Petersburg, is now closed.
In a Facebook post from July 24, the nonprofit organization said the closing was due to a “death by Covid,” but hopes to reopen next year.
“This comes with a heavy heart for a dream that will come again another day,” said the post. “This will be our last weekend open. Covid 19 has done us in too. There has been no income/ no profit since end of February. We tried our best, but our type of business with basically no social distancing and everything is so touchy feely, we just can’t survive when so many scared to come in.”
The museum also stated that they did not qualify for a PPP loan, and emphasized that the purpose of the organization was to help raise money for the Odessa Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary.
Organizers now say people can still help feed and care for the animals by donating to a Paypal account.
The Pinball Arcade Museum tried several different ways to adapt to the pandemic. Earlier this month the organization offered the public the opportunity to rent their machines for private events, and installed clear plastic sheets to help separate guests.
“God Bless everyone, stay safe and healthy and see you on the other side of all this next year,” said the post. “Machines will be stored and preserved for another day.”
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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2020.
