If you’re looking to go where people know your name, you might want to head over to Phoenix’s new arcade bar, Bonus Round.

You may not get greeted like it’s an episode of ‘Cheers’, but Jacob Rendel and James Goshow opened Bonus Round to create a community-based environment where folks can comfortably enjoy nerd culture with a drink.

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Photos by Kristina Venegas and Jesse Canales

“Bonus Round is a place for everyone, nerds, geeks, gamers and hipsters,” Rendel said. “It’s a place where people can come and celebrate their passions, a place to enjoy games and quality drinks.”

The two were inspired by the growing arcade bar industry, which came into form in 2003 with Barcade in New York and Ground Control in Portland, Oregon.

Bonus Round
Jacob Rendel opened up Bonus Round with his cousin James Goshow to create a nerd haven in uptown Phoenix (Photo by Jesse Canales)

The two cousins began working on the bar after a phone conversation more than a year ago.

“Hey, man you want to go grab a beer, an awesome local IPA, and play some arcades?” Goshow said over the phone.

“That sounds perfect! Where’re we going to go?” Rendel asked.

“Nowhere yet. But we are going to build that bar,” Goshow said, and the rest is history.

Jacob Rendel and James Goshow opened Bonus Round on May 13, Friday the 13th, completing a one-year dream project

As a way to commemorate the day made famous by the Jason films, they had giveaways and a signed Jason mask for customers.

Bonus Round currently holds 18 games, but they are looking to add more. The ‘newest’ arcade game Bonus Round is willing to have is Blitz ’99. Most of Bonus Round’s arcade games were acquired from a huge lot that was on sale in Downtown Phoenix.

“They’ve just been sitting there for a decade unused, untouched, in relative disrepair, and we wanted to give people a chance to play these games,” said Rendel. “We missed playing these games ourselves and we thought if that was true for us it must be true for other people.”

Their personal favorite arcade cabinet, Cyberball, has a special place in Rendel’s and Goshow’s hearts. Goshow’s father and his uncle played the two versus two game every day as kids together competing against all challengers at their local Circle K after school.

“The moment we got to challenge (Goshow’s) dad and uncle to this game in our bar was awesome,” Rendel explained. “It was great.”

The 2,200 square-foot bar also has a kitchen for those looking to grab a meal while they drink and play. Customers who commuted via the light rail or took their bikes can also receive a 15 percent discount on drinks.

The bar isn’t all about arcade either.

Bonus Round is located next door to All About Books and Comics, which has been a comic book staple in the Valley for over 40 years, who welcomed their new neighbors by providing them with free comics that are located on the tables and they provided the 125 comics used to create Bonus Round’s bar top.

“They have a long standing customer base and we get a lot of just walkover business from them, which is really cool,” said Rendel. “We’ve done a bunch of tie in with them and a ton of cross-promotion.”

Bonus Round even created specialty cocktails during All About Books and Comics DC re-birth event.

They both were huge comic book nerds growing up, and Rendel admits he was more inspired by the comic book visuals than the stories growing up.

“I remember standing in front of the old rotating racks and looking at them while my mom was at the checkout line,” said Rendel. “As quick as I could, try to tear through a book trying to get as much as I could visually, falling in love with the pictures.”

That same love of comics is shared among their other business partners and investors, Nick Lewis and Clayton Steffen. Both provided funding as well as their expertise. Lewis is Bonus Round’s functional store manager who has a ton of experience around the Valley’s restaurant scene.

Steffen provided his input on Bonus Round’s drink menu after the knowledge he gained from being part-owner of The Whining Pig. Rendel and Goshow received the rest of the funding from a bank through a SBA loan they secured.

Bonus Round has also partnered with Imperial Outpost games at 45th Avenue and Thunderbird Road. Bonus Round’s entire library of board games was provided by Imperial Outpost.

Bonus Round is looking to get involved in the growing Phoenix board game developing market and the comic book fan base.

“We’re working (with Imperial Outpost) to do some different demo nights and beta test their games with our customers,” said Rendel. “They’ll be coming out and hosting some different events.”

Bonus Round is open from 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Friday to Saturday. It closes at 10 p.m. on Sundays.