Atlanta’s Southern-Fried Gaming Expo hits high score for pinball, arcade enthusiasts

Better yet, the expo didn’t lose money, and they were able to do it again and again.

This year, the three remaining founders hope to draw up to 10,000 unique visitors to the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly and Cobb Galleria Centre Friday to Sunday to play more than 500 arcade and pinball machines.

Tickets for adults start at $30 for day passes and $88 for weekend passes at gameatl.com/registration.

Credit: Juan Jusino

Credit: Juan Jusino

Over the years, the expo has added rooms for attendees to play board games and role-playing games with 1,000 to choose from. They can also relive the past, playing games from old console gaming systems and classic computers, listen to panels with game designers or participate in a cosplay contest. Organizers also offer two wrestling shows, a Saturday night ’80s-themed prom and a hot pepper eating contest.

“It’s been a slow and natural growth as we expanded to have more space and more offerings,” Burt said. “We’ve relied heavily on word-of-mouth. We don’t have a big ad budget.”

It helps that the organizers have seen pinball grow in popularity in recent years, with a bumper crop of “barcades” featuring full-fledged game rooms opening up around town, such as Joystick Gamebar in Atlanta and Tin Pin in Marietta.

“Pinball provides such a unique level of play,” Burt said. “It’s physical. It’s tactile. And it gets people together. Instead of connecting, virtually, they are connecting in reality.”

While some of the 100 vendors bring in newer games to promote or sell, another 100 volunteer collectors bring in their own.

“Everybody who brings a machine gets in free,” Burt said. “And if you bring more machines, you get more perks like a VIP party and exclusive merch. People haul games from Texas and Chicago.”

Credit: Juan Jusino

Credit: Juan Jusino

Shannon DeWitt, another organizer, said Southern-Fried started as a passion project that has blossomed into a successful side hustle for the trio. (They all work full time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

“Some people will spend months fixing up a classic pinball machine and come to our show to show it off,” he said, akin to classic car enthusiasts. “They’ll make them look like they rolled off the factory floor.”

Wesley Bramlett, a Marietta native and resident and active volunteer, will bring 10 pinball machines to the expo, including one themed around the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and another focused on Super Mario Bros. Year-round, he stocks arcade games and pinball machines at Marietta Melt Yard and Solar Slice Pizza, which split revenues with him. He also loves fixing machines and will do so free of charge during the expo.

“These machines go through the ringer during the weekend,” he said. “It’s a month’s worth of play in three days. It’s a good test to see how they hold up.”

Credit: Juan Jusino

Credit: Juan Jusino

He said pinball wizards are buzzing about the introduction of a new Harry Potter-themed pinball machine created by Jersey Jack Pinball: “I expect the line for that one to be an hour.”

The sound on the expo floor is loud, he added: “There’s this steady roar of people talking and all the game sounds. It’s a cool experience.”

The organizers say they are too busy to actually play any games during the weekend.

“But I get on the elevator and overhear kids talking it up and smiling ear to ear,” DeWitt said. “That’s why we do this.”

If you go

Southern-Fried Gaming Expo

Friday, 3 p.m.-midnight, Saturday, 10 a.m.-midnight, Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Day passes $30-$55, weekend passes $88 for adults, $20-$50 for children 7-12 (6 and under are free). Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center, 2450 Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, and the Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Pkwy SE, Atlanta. gameatl.com