Salem's Bit Bar Crowdfunds For Move to Derby Street

SALEM, MA —Salem's Bit Bar is on the move and looking to its customers and fans to help it expand at its new Derby Street location.

The arcade bar, which battled to the state to stay open during parts of the coronavirus health crisis, said this week it is packing up the games from its Old Salem Jail location for a move to the Derby Street site formerly home to Salem Beer Works.

To help facilitate the move, Bit Bar is soliciting donations through a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising the initial goal of $25,666 to go toward the costs of additional furniture, interior work and more games.

"This is obviously not the best time to make such a move but we couldn't let this opportunity pass us by," Bit Bar co-founder and manager Rob Hall said on the GoFundMe page. "To make this huge move possible, we are asking for your help (and offering some stellar awards in return) so we can succeed and remain part of the fabric of Salem for years to come."

Those unique awards come in the form of "rewards" for donations.

Bit Bar said it will offer a $30 token punch card for a $25 donation, a $60 token punch card for a $50 donation, a $150 t0ken punch card, T-shirt and sticker for a $100 donation and a "tokens for life" membership card, T-shirt and stickers for a $250 donation.

A $500 donation gets you a two-hour private rental for up to 30 people along with a token for life and some Bit Bar swag.

For $1,400, donors can "Help Stimulate Bit Bar" and name the game by selecting an arcade game to be located at Bit Bar for at least two years with a personalized plaque placed next to the game, a signed piece of Bit Bar game memorabilia and some choice Bit Bar artwork.

"Come take advantage of our compelling rewards and help us write the next exciting chapter of Bit Bar while getting something fun in return," Hall said.

The new location is planned to include a 30-person private space, more pinball tables, Skee-ball, air hockey and, if funding is ample, private karaoke rooms.

Rewards will be redeemable starting in September and will expire in two years.

"The Old Salem Jail has been a wonderful home for us over the past five years and we will always remember our time here fondly," Hall said. "However, with our lease coming up in July, we decided to look around for a bigger and better location. Our new space is over three times larger than our current location and will allow us to offer a host of amenities and activities that we just didn't have space for at the Jail.

"In a perfect world, perfect opportunities arrive at the perfect time. However, In the real world, opportunities show up when they want, and you have just got to seize them when they do (and ask for a little help from your friends)."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)