A new world of pinball is coming to Parma Heights. After the family-owned Southland Lanes bowling alley in Middleburg Heights closed this summer, the space's robust collection of pinball games has beamed into a new arcade called Pinball Planet.
“This is something my wife [Brianna Weber] and I had talked about doing,” says owner Chris Weber. He’s seated in the arcade’s office near a playpen for the couple’s 8-month-old son, tucked in a corner. “Eventually we’d be branching out from Southland. We had talked about it over the past few years. Now this gave us the kick that we needed.”
Taking over the former Rogue’s Den board game shop at 6277 Pearl Road, Pinball Planet’s new home is less than two miles from its original spot. Inside the deep room, Chris has lined the walls with his and business partner Mark Houghton’s pinball machines, with 40 games to play — including, notably, a brand-new John Wick-themed game.
Plus, you’ll see some seating, furniture, equipment and attractions saved from Southland Lanes.
The new location has a few similarities to the pinball hot spot’s original home.
“I mean, we’re here, in another shopping center, but straight across from another bowling alley [Yorktown Lanes],” Chris says. “It’s nice to be in our own community and, as always, to support the community around us here.”
RELATED: Roll Up To These 4 Cleveland Bowling Alleys
Over the past decade, the Webers have become an important part of Northeast Ohio’s pinball community. Their pinball room hosted various leagues and competitions for the most die-hard players and hobbyists in the region for years. But when Southland Lanes was forced to close due to coding and leasing issues in the Southland Shopping Center building, they needed to find a new home for their collections (which temporarily took up much of the Webers' living room and Houghton's garage).
Chris and Houghton lugged their machines out of Southland Lanes over one spring-summer weekend before the space closed, carefully lifting each metal-and-glass module up a flight of stairs, and out of the room where Chris first fell in love with the game.
It started with an old Rocky and Bullwinkle pinball machine in the party room, way back when his parents, Holly and Mike Weber, took over the bowling alley in 2011.
“I would be playing it because we just opened the bowling alley in the summer; it was dead,” Chris says. “I had nothing to do. But whenever I’d play, I’d start finding things wrong with it.”
Chris tinkered with the machine, learning how to make basic repairs — and, all the while, getting better at gameplay, too. He bought a machine, and then two, focusing on broken, neglected mechanical pinball machines that he could restore, then bring into Southland Lanes and offer to the local pinball community.
“Within a year, one game turned into, like, eight games. And then in another year, eight games turned into, you know, 15 games. And now I’ve bought and sold over 67 games in the last 10 years.”
RELATED: 12 Places to Play Pinball in Greater Cleveland
Chris counts Taxi, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Guardians of the Galaxy pinball games as his current favorites.
While Chris worked on the games, Brianna arranged events, food drives, charity tournaments and other programming in the space. The two will continue to work together at Pinball Planet.
“If you wanna play pinball, I’ve got you there,” Chris says, “but all the fun stuff that happens behind the scenes, that’s all her.”
Together, the couple aims to open for pinball on Aug. 1, and is working with the Board of Health to have food and drinks in the arcade soon after. Chris also says he plans to transfer Southland Lanes’ liquor permit to Pinball Planet.
All the while, eager pinball players have been reaching out to assist in the transition — and to get into play.
“The pinball community has been great,” Chris says. “We cannot wait to be open and serving the pinball community again, and just Parma Heights in general, and growing pinball.”
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
