PUEBLO — When you walk into Bite Me Cake Company in downtown Pueblo, you would never know that just below your feet is a pinball goldmine.
"I had enough that I could start my own, so why not just start my own," said Adam Jordan, referring to his large pinball machine collection.
Jordan is a pinball "operator and enthusiast" and is now spearheading the Flip A Coin basement bar and arcade, a branch of the family-owned bakery above it.
"It is the biggest little community I have ever seen," said Jordan about his pinball community.
"Everywhere you turn you have somebody - Oh yeah, I have pinball machines at my house! I go here.... or I go here - And it's always the people you least expect that play."
Many of Jordan's personal collections now live in the arcade for customers to use.
Flip A Coin is now registered with the International Flipper Pinball Association, and according to Jordan, is the only IFPA registered pinball league south of Denver.
"We were traveling to Denver every weekend to play tournaments," says Jordan.
Now, the tournaments they hold in the bar can help get them points to qualify for tournaments statewide, and even the world championship.
Wednesday evening is expected to be the bar's biggest tournament since opening in the summer of 2021. The event is a launch party for their newest pinball machine and their first sponsored tournament.
Owner Nick Baca says when he opened the bar he was "it was scary".
"I didn't know what to expect, ya know?... Being a new bar owner, I've never owned a bar before... A business, but never a bar."
However, Baca says the support from the community and surrounding small businesses has been better than he ever imagined.
"People have been so supportive... We've had no drama, they just want to hangout and they want a place to come in downtown and that's what we're trying to provide for them."
Jordan and his fellow pinballers say the game is for anyone and everyone.
"Just walk up, put quarters in, push start, and play!"
To stay up to date with events at Flip A Coin, click here.
To get involved with the IFPA, click here.
