Most businesses try to manufacture “experience” after the fact.
LED lights, a playlist, maybe a themed drink menu—and hope it feels authentic. Utopia Pinball Lounge didn’t start that way. It wasn’t built to chase a trend or retrofit nostalgia into a business model. It started as a refusal.
When Bari Jo Berman stepped away from a career at Disney, she made a decision most creatives only talk about: she would never work on someone else’s art again. What followed wasn’t a typical retirement plan. It was a workshop. A proving ground. A place where pinball machines aren’t purchased—they’re built, engineered, and obsessed over.
Alongside her sister, Hava Brown, Utopia has become something rare in today’s entertainment landscape: a space that actually means something to the people who created it. Part design studio, part time capsule, part social lounge, it’s not trying to compete with your phone. It’s trying to pull you away from it.
This isn’t just a pinball spot in Boulder City, Nevada. It’s a case study in what happens when creativity leads and the business is forced to follow.
RELATED: BEYOND THE LOGO: THE 2026 WORLD CUP AND THE RISE OF “AMBUSH AUTHENTICITY”
Meet the Owners of Utopia Pinball
Marketer on the Run: What is Utopia Pinball lounge and how did the idea first come together?
Hava Brown: Bari Jo Berman wanted a retirement plan. When she retired from Disney, she vowed to never work on anyone else’s art. Instead, she is working on her own: designing and building custom games like the pinball machine: Wrath of Cthulhu and the arcade machine: Viki (short for Victorian).
MOTR: Design is a major part of the experience. How did your backgrounds, particularly in design and entertainment shape the environment you created?
HB: Bari Jo has the creative brain in our family. She’s always been a tinkerer and creator. Now that she’s retired, she wants to create her own masterpieces and working with wood, metal, electronics, etc are what drive her. She loves the Steampunk and Mid Century Modern Atomic aesthetics so her first projects reflect those designs.
MOTR: One of the most unique aspects is that the space functions as a design studio during the week and a lounge during select hours. How did that hybrid model develop? The space uniquely serves as a design studio on weekdays and a lounge at select times. How did this hybrid model evolve?
HB: The City of Boulder City drove that model! We are not zoned for arcades or amusements, we are zoned as an office. So instead, we invite the public to enjoy our showroom on the weekends.
MOTR: In a world of video games and entertainment on your phone, what is the nostalgic pull that brings people back to pinball?
HB: Most of us (of a certain age) enjoyed pinball as kids and young adults. Now that we’re older, that wish to return to the fun we enjoyed in our youth drives the desire to play pinball. On top of that, pinball has evolved with even better themes, gameplay and experiences. The kids trying it for the first time today are really lucky! I also think being able to enjoy a game together in a social setting is exactly what the world needs – post pandemic speaking!
MOTR: Are there plans for leagues, tournaments, or community-driven experiences as Utopia grows?
HB: Yes! We are hosting our first tournament on Sunday, May 3rd and hope to host Nevada State Championships in 2027. And yes, we are looking into starting leagues as well. Bari Jo was a member of Belles and Chimes (women only league) back in SoCal and we would love to start a chapter here. Be on the lookout for some fun community driven nights soon…
MOTR: When someone walks into Utopia for the first time, what do you hope they feel?
HB: We hope they feel welcomed in our little time capsule of a business. Bari Jo designed the interior to feel like you’ve traveled back in time to the 50’s when optimism was the rule of the day. When the world was a bit nicer, safer and more colorful. You don’t need to be a pinball wizard to play here. In fact, we welcome novices all of the time. We are so happy to give a tour of the place, teach someone how to play pinball or just chat about the good old days in the lounge.
MOTR: What do you love about being part of the Boulder City business community?
HB: There is nothing better than being a part of Boulder City businesses. We have lived all over the world (thanks to our Army dad) and Boulder City is the only place we would consider retiring in. The business owners all support each other and our residents.
MOTR: How do you promote your business?
HB: We have mainly relied on word of mouth and social media.
MOTR: Where can people find more information?
HB: Utopiapinball.com or by calling 702-803-2999 or email me at funfaerie@utopiapinball.com follow us on socials.
A Boulder City Classic in the Making
Utopia Pinball Lounge works because it doesn’t pretend to be bigger than it is. It leans into exactly what it’s built for: craftsmanship, community, and a very specific kind of fun that most places have forgotten how to deliver.
In a world where entertainment is increasingly isolated, personalized, and algorithmically fed to you, Utopia is doing something almost rebellious. It’s bringing people back into the same room, putting something physical in front of them, and saying: play.
There’s no growth hack hiding here. No aggressive expansion plan. Just a clear point of view, executed consistently. And that’s exactly why it works.
If you want to see what that feels like in real life, you can find them at utopiapinball.com or step into the lounge yourself and experience it firsthand. Just don’t be surprised if you stay longer than you planned.