What to know
- An intruder threw a brick through the front window of FreePlay Toronto around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
- The suspect briefly entered the arcade bar, causing minor damage and taking a bottle of alcohol.
- Police arrived shortly afterward and collected evidence from the scene.
- The venue says it plans to install gates on its front doors to improve security after the break-in.
A Toronto retro arcade is still recovering after a recent early morning break-in, which saw an intruder throwing a brick through the storefront.
College Street arcade bar FreePlay Toronto has been cleaning up and assessing damages after someone smashed a front window and briefly entered the space around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
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In a social media post, which included video footage of the incident, the bar cautioned customers about the break-in.
“Please pardon our appearance over the next few days. Unfortunately, we had a break in last night,” the venue said, adding that none of its collection of 1980s and 1990s memorabilia was taken. FreePlay confirmed it would remain open with regular hours.
According to Managing Partner Jake Yakobi, the intruder broke in while a FreePlay staff member was inside, but damage was minimal. The suspect ended up only taking a bottle of alcohol.
“We’re really lucky, and I guess we dodged a bullet in that regard,” Yakobi told Now Toronto.
Police arrived shortly afterward and collected evidence from the scene, he said. While the damage was relatively minor, the team plans to increase security at the venue.
“We’ve been there for six years and never had anything like that occur. It just shakes you up a little bit thinking of how bad it could have possibly been,” Yakobi shared. “It was a little bit of an eye opener… Because of that, we’re going to beef up security a little bit. Sadly, we’re going to put gates on our front doors, just to prevent this from happening again.”
Despite the disruption, Yakobi said the response from customers and neighbours has been overwhelmingly supportive.
“I’m just happy that we’ve had all kinds of love and support from the community and Toronto and tourists in general. It’s just such a welcoming environment,” he said.
Known for its cartoon graffiti art, FreePlay Toronto has built a following for its nostalgic old-school gaming experience, offering a wide selection of unlimited-access arcade cabinets and console games, alongside DJs on weekends.
