Entry No. 57 — the New York City file — filed under: arcade-play
The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club
A 17,000-square-foot vintage-Florida fever dream on the edge of the Gowanus Canal, with ten regulation shuffleboard courts, canvas cabanas, and tiki drinks like hand-shaken pina coladas and guava rum punch. A rotating roster of food trucks docks inside the building, and the calendar runs to bingo nights, live tiki bands, and DJs spinning old soul 45s.
The story
In a 17,000-square-foot Gowanus warehouse just steps from the canal, co-founder Jonathan Schnapp and general manager Nick Shields built what can only be described as a vintage-Florida fever dream. They took a space built for industrial storage, dressed it in muted retro pastels, popped up canvas cabanas, and laid down ten regulation floor shuffleboard courts. The vision was hyper-specific: transplant the sun-bleached, lawn-club leisure of mid-century St. Petersburg directly into the industrial grit of Brooklyn.
It worked better than anyone expected. Beyond the hand-shaken piña coladas and DJs spinning vintage soul 45s, Royal Palms spawned an unusually dedicated local subculture—hosting a competitive league circuit with over 100 teams battling for court position with wooden tangs and plastic biscs. The fact that this pastel oasis sits on Union Street along the Gowanus Canal—a neighborhood whose environmental quirks and industrial history occasionally land it in local news—only adds to the sense that you've slipped into a surreal, climate-controlled pocket dimension.
What it's like
Show up on a weekend without a court reservation and you'll end up waiting at the bar—which isn't the worst fate, given the frozen daiquiris and guava rum punch. The high-ceilinged room hums with the click-clack of biscs sliding across floor wax, while a rotating food truck literally parks inside the building to serve dinner. It's strictly 21+ every day of the week, with one key exception: on Sundays, the doors open to families, though players still need to be at least eight years old to take the court.
The move: Reserve a court, order frozen daiquiris, and trash-talk your way through a few games of shuffleboard while a food truck handles dinner.
📍 Before you go 21+ every day except Sundays (all ages, kids must be 8+ to play). Courts can be reserved by the hour; book ahead on weekends.
- 📍 Gowanus, Brooklyn
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Big night
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 514 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Brooklyn Glass — One Day Neon Workshop — Spend the afternoon bending live neon down the block in Gowanus before sliding into a canvas cabana for tropical drinks and shuffleboard.
- House of Wax Bar — Trade retro Floridian kitsch for 19th-century medical wax anatomical figures at this dim bar tucked inside Downtown Brooklyn.
- Susan Gardner's Mosaic House — Take a ten-minute stroll north into Boerum Hill to admire a brownstone entirely encrusted in mosaic fragments before your court reservation.
Good to know
Do I need to book a shuffleboard court in advance?
Walk-in courts are available, but weekend slots sell out fast. Reserving a court by the hour online beforehand is the safest move.
Are kids allowed inside?
Royal Palms is 21+ Monday through Saturday. Sundays are all-ages, though kids must be at least 8 years old to play on the courts.
What is the food situation?
There is no static kitchen menu; instead, a rotating roster of local food trucks drives directly into the building to handle food service.
What else goes on there besides shuffleboard?
The venue hosts bingo nights, live tiki bands, board games, and nights where DJs spin old soul on 7-inch vinyl.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Time Out · nyctourism.com · readonhand.com · cbsnews.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-23