Atari Party Friday at Dig This

Vintage furniture dealer specializes in . This Friday, owner Reed Orem is also dialing back the pixels with its first-ever eight-bit video game party.

What’s a more authentic setting for a gaming session than a room that feels like a 1980s den?

“We’re going to set up a couple video systems, set up a couple of vignettes,” he says. “We’ll set them up like someone’s living room.”

From 7 p.m. on, guests will be able to stop by, have a drink with the boss and curl up in one of three staged areas with an old friend: Atari.

Last week was the 40th anniversary of America’s oldest TV gaming system, which Orem discovered when planning the event.

“We were trying to think of things that were vintage, things that remind us of our childhood, and my father-in-law said, ‘How about we bring down the old Atari?’” Orem says.

The throwback gaming console is a generational touchstone, Orem says, which makes it the perfect medium for mixing business and pleasure. If a customer wants to try out a couch or a coffee table, why not sit in it and see how well it holds up to a marathon Pitfall run or several rounds of Pac-Man?

“Either way I’m going to be open, so I might as well have a good time,” he says. “The cost of buying a keg or two or having a few people is negligible considering the good times.”

Dig This is asking guests to RSVP to the store Facebook page for the event. Alcohol will be available for persons of age, and although children are welcome, Orem says that the evening is geared more toward adults.

“Come ready to have a good time,” he says. “When the night ends, the night ends. I hope we’re not done at the end of business hours.”