Take a trip to your childhood at Retro Social Freeplay Arcade

Take a trip to your childhood at Retro Social Freeplay Arcade

Published 2:00 pm Sunday, February 15, 2026

If you’re a Generation X or a millennial looking to expose your children to the video games you grew up with, take them back to your childhood at Retro Social Freeplay Arcade.

With more than 60 stand-up arcade games — with the oldest being Space Invaders from 1978 — the whole family is guaranteed a good time for only $10 for freeplay for as long as you like at the arcade located at 1007 Twilight Trail, Suite 1.

The arcade is owned by a couple, Kerry Azbill and Shelby Cardwell, previous owners of The Foundry, which they established right before the COVID-19 pandemic. They operated it for six years before selling it in January 2025.

“We moved into this phase of an arcade and bar,” Azbill said. “This is more of an arcade and event center than a bar.”

Retro Social Freeplay Arcade opened on Jan. 3 and began serving alcohol on Feb. 3. The first month of business, they had 5,000 patrons.

“The whole purpose is to give Frankfort, and the surrounding area, something to do,” Cardwell said. “Families, specifically. We have five kids who are always asking for more quarters or more credits at arcades. Here, they can play as much as they want for $10. We have people come in and have a drink or work from here, and the kids run around.”

Along with the arcade games — which include Ms. Pac-Man, Cardwell’s favorite game, and Rastan, Azbill’s favorite game — is a wall of “granny TVs”, each with a different gaming console connected to it. There is Atari, Sega, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, and NES.

“The TVs were statement pieces in the living room,” Azbill said. “I have repaired or replaced the capacitors and internals in all of them. They’ll keep going another 40 years.”

The oldest TV in the collection is a Zenith from 1970.

Azbill started his arcade collection several years ago with an old Pac-Man game.

“It started off as, ‘hey, this would be cool if I could rebuild a Pac-Man machine from my youth,’” Azbill said. “Then there were five, 10, and 15 games.”

The collection of arcade games grew to 52 in Azbill and Cardwell’s home before they moved them to the Twilight Trail location.

“These were in our basement, then they moved into the dining room and our children’s rooms,” Cardwell said. “Until we found their forever home.”

Like the TVs, Azbill has had to do a lot of work on the arcade games to keep them in working order.

“They’re antiquated in the digital age we live in,” Azbill said. “Fixing and repairing 80s tech is an interesting journey. These machines will be divas, and random parts stop working, and you have to fix them. But they are tanks and are built to last a long time. Some of them are over 40 years old.”

Azbill and Cardwell also plan to have several pinball machines. They currently have one “Harry Potter” pinball machine. Azbill said he eventually wants to start a women’s pinball league that would compete in tournaments.

A party room is also available for rent at Retro Social Freeplay Arcade. The room seats about 20 people, but there isn’t a cap on the number of people who can attend events. The cost is $250, and that includes the $10 freeplay charge for all who attend the party.

Along with game-themed house cocktails, such as “Tonic the Hedgehog,” “Golden Eye,” “Princess Daisy,” and “Kirby’s Hangover,” the bar also sells pre-packaged snacks. On the weekends, different food trucks are scheduled to be outside the arcade. On Saturday, the food truck What’s Crackin’ will be at the arcade. Also, in celebration of Valentine’s Day on Saturday, they will offer a Ms. Pac-Man and Mr. Pac-Man drink.

Retro Social Freeplay Arcade is open 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 4 p.m.-midnight on Friday; 11 a.m.-midnight on Saturday; and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sunday. The arcade is 21 and up after 9 p.m. every day. Follow Retro Social Freeplay Arcade on social media for more information.