Location: 1000 N Rohlwing Rd, Lombard, IL 60148, USA
Date: January 2016

Report by Dan Marquardt

Driving a truck for a living in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I often passed by the Brauer House right off I-355 and North Ave. in Lombard, Illinois. It looked like a cool place to stop in and have a beer.

Brauer House in Lombard

Hearing that pinball collector and operator Gavin Miller had recently installed six sweet pins there made it the place to visit the following weekend.

The Brauer House was well worth the effort to visit. When you walk into the Brauer House, there are two choices of rooms to proceed to.

To the right is the bar featuring many craft beers on tap, and a grill with a large selection of food.

The many beers on tap

To the left is a room with a few pool tables, a jukebox, and Gavin's six pins.

My choice was to go to the right side for a beer and then back to the left side to try out all the pins available.

The six pinballs at Brauer House:
Kiss, Metallica, The Walking Dead, Monster Bash, The Rolling Stones & Dracula

It was awesome to play pins in their natural habitat - a dimly lit bar.

Playing the pins, there was no doubt the operator was a collector. The games were very clean and had no issues. My favorite was Williams Dracula, which I completely missed out on when it originally came out.

Dracula with Monster Bash & The Rolling Stones

There has always been a Stern pin on tournament mode the three times I have been there so far.

Metallica is the ToPS Tournament machine

The Brauer House often features live music. If you are going to just play the pins I suggest an early visit, or go on a Sunday.

Any trip in that direction from now on will include a stop at the Brauer House to have a tasty burger, a beer or two, and play some quality pins.

© Pinball News 2016