‘The Flipper Room’ brings classic pinball fun to East Bay

CONCORD, Calif. — Come for the custom framing, stay for a few rounds of pinball.

When Mike Moretti opened “The Art of Picture Framing”, a friend of his, who owned a demolition business and just finished a job, approached him and asked if he wanted a pinball machine for his breakroom.

“I was like, ‘oh man, no, they’re really heavy,'” Moretti said. “My crew just needs to focus on getting work done.”

Moretti would later hire his friend’s son, and when his friend, John, passed away a few years later, Moretti was again asked about the pinball machine.

“He said, ‘hey, that pinball machine that my dad was going to give you for the break room, what do you think we get that thing going?'” Moretti said. “I said, ‘I think it’s a great idea.’ So we did.”

“Employees would come in on their day off,” Moretti said. “And then somebody added us to ‘The Pinball Map’, which is a crowd-sourced pinball map, and people started coming to play pinball.”

One machine turned into two, and two turned into too many before Moretti had an idea. At a time when his framing business was slow, he decided to lean into the pinball machines as a secondary source of income.

“I have the space, I have the games,” Moretti said. “I have the drive. And the people want it.”

“But I also told the crew that kept asking for the pinball machines that if we’re going to do this, it needs to have a great presentation,” Moretti said. “because that’s what we do, we’re framers. It’s all about presentation. And so, we need the art to go with the machines, we need the space to look good. A warm environment that people feel safe in.”

The response was more than Moretti could’ve imagined. Before long, “The Flipper Room” began hosting tournaments, fundraisers, and a weekly league night.

“I’m learning because of the community’s feedback,” Moretti said. “On everything, from the game selection to formats for tournaments and leagues. So, it’s been a learning experience for me, for sure.”

“The Flipper Room” is also part of the “The Little Flippers” program, a nonprofit organization aimed at introducing kids to the social interaction and engagement that comes with pinball.

“We’re trying to grow the hobby for generations to come,” Moretti said. “Because, if you get the kids into it, then, they grow up and they have kids and it keeps on going.”

And what pinball shop-slash-framing store would be complete without a “shop cat” named Spacer?

“Spacer the Cat,” Moretti said. “He’s here for the people.”

Moretti says he loves the nostalgia of pinball. He has dozens of machines ranging from the 1960’s to modern games, and he even runs the machines entirely on coins, keeping with tradition.

“We get kids in and one of my biggest fascinations is the walk in and they don’t know how to count quarters,” Moretti said. “Then they leave and they know what 25 cents is, 75 cents is, and what makes up a dollar.”

Moretti’s businesses have grown and evolved so much over the years that he feels like he’s reached the perfect place for him.

“All of the money we’ve been taking in, I’ve been reinvesting it in growth,” Moretti said, “and I think now is the time to get comfortable, find our niche in life, and be happy. So, I think I’m at that point in life where it’s not about growing the business, it’s about being happy.”