The business hosts weekly pinball tournaments and even uses some of the revenue generated as fundraisers for the Project Pinball charity, a nonprofit that brings pinball machines into children's hospitals. Pac-Man" and newer games like "Halo" and "Jurassic Park." With over 450 games inside of Next Level's 20,000-square-foot space, about half are pinball machines and half are other arcade video games - with classics like "Ms. "Surprisingly, the market for pinball machines was pretty high during the pandemic," Whitney Carlson said. That, coupled with selling off certain pinball machines they keep in their inventory for the store, helped the Carlsons keep their workforce employed - and helped Next Level stay in business. It's a good thing, too, because part of what kept Next Level afloat during the pandemic was the ability to sell these new pinball machines despite no one being able to come inside their store. Jordan Carlson had a friend who was propositioned by one of them to be a retailer and passed, but he recommended the Carlsons for the gig.Ī D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below To be a licensed pinball retailer, one must be approached by reps in the industry. They started with just a machine or two, but the passion to collect rare pinballs soon grew, and Carlson began making inroads with others in the pinball community. Jordan Carlson and his father always fostered a love for pinball growing up.
NEXT LEVEL PINBALL FULL
It expanded to the other half of its current space in 2020, just a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Oregon in full force.įrom humble origins and through these bumps in the road, it's been an interesting journey to becoming one of the premier pinball locations in a state that's known for its tight-knit pinball community. The arcade opened at its location at 1458 N.E. This status as "the pinball capital of the world," as they put it, is why Next Level owners Jordan and Whitney Carlson - along with Jordan's father, Fred - have decided to go big in the pinball gaming world. There are more pinball machines in Oregon than anywhere else in the country, according to, and the Portland area has the highest concentration in the state. The Pacific Northwest is a beacon for the international pinball community. The store is one of the largest local pinball palaces, which is saying something for the Portland area. The owners say they've weathered the storm of COVID-19 closures and are ready to hit the ground running in 2022.
While it opened in Hillsboro in 2017, Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum is celebrating a de facto "grand reopening" this year now that pandemic restrictions have finally been lifted. Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum is one of the largest local spots for pinball, in an area that is world famous for it.
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