St. Johns Music Venue The Fixin’ To Is Fixin’ to Become an Arcade

St. Johns bar and music venue The Fixin’ To is fixin’ to go pinball wizard, starting this summer. Owners Marli and Bart Blasengame are installing a bunch of video games—retro cabinet games, modern racers and over 30 pinball machines—in the 2,000 square-foot space currently being used as a music venue.

The new venture is a partnership with Chris Rhodes, owner of the barcade Wedgehead on Northeast Sandy Boulevard. But the St. Johns bar will retain The Fixin’ To’s name, location and “disheveled honky-tonk vibe,” Bart Blasengame says.

The Blasengames opened The Fixin’ To in 2010 and constructed the attached music venue, the soon-to-be arcade, in 2016. In 2018, WW named it the No. 3 best bar in town , and called it “a cornerstone of Portland’s indie music scene.”

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