GO HOME You CAN AGAIN

BEHIND ONE PROPRIETOR’S RETURN TO HIS ROOTS

By Daniel Ellman

For Michael Ducat, the opportunity seemed too good to be true.

Southwyck Lanes, a bowling center in Toledo, OH, was about to hit the market. And Ducat, the proprietor of Cypress Lanes in Winter Haven, FL, wanted it. So, he put in an offer, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In the Family

For Ducat, his purchase of Southwyck Lanes, which was finalized December 1st of last year, is proof you can go home again. A little back history: Ducat spent his first 41 years in Toledo. And, as he explained, “In the mid-1990s, my dad and Sheri Gratop purchased Southwyck Lanes, so our family has a ton of history and tradition in that building.”

Though the center was no longer in his family until last December, Ducat was still intimately familiar with the facility and its offerings. “We knew what Southwyck offered, which was basically a traditional bowling experience,” Ducat said. “Toledo has a number of other traditional centers, but it’s an untapped market for family entertainment centers, and we thought we could change that.”

Ducat’s plan involved adding multiple profit centers, including a brand-new kitchen and restaurant, laser tag, arcade, and more.

A Huge Undertaking

What do you do when you have grand plans for a center that needs a lot of work? You call in experts you trust and get moving!

Once his purchase of Southwyck was complete, Ducat immediately reached out to Dynamic Designs, which has been designing family entertainment centers for more than three decades. One of their projects was Cypress Lanes, Ducat’s center in Florida.

“We’ve turned our 40-lane center into an extremely high revenue house thanks to all of our other attractions,” Ducat said. “It’s proof that when you upgrade other areas, you can triple your income.”

Ducat hopes for similar success at Southwyck. Stephanie Milligan, an architect for Dynamic Designs, met with Ducat and went over floor plan options for a renovated facility, which will be rebranded as IncrediBowl Entertainment once it’s ready to open the doors.

Floor plans were finalized in recent weeks, and, in early May, demolition began. “This is a major project, and we’re ripping everything out,” Ducat said. “Basically, nothing has changed since 1985 and we need to take it into the future. We’ll have new plumbing, new electrical, and we’re changing meeting rooms into a million-dollar kitchen.”

Looking Forward

Design

Next to come are the design plans, including theme and color options, which Dynamic Designs is working on closely with Ducat. It’s a healthy back-and-forth between the two sides.

“I have my ideas and Dynamic [Designs] has their own ideas, expertise, and connections in the bowling industry, so we both bring something to the table,” Ducat said.

“Whenever you create architectural and design plans, you know it’s going to be a living document,” Ducat continued. That means being open to change, no matter when those changes may come.

“What our plans are right now at the beginning of demolition will likely change a number of times before we finally open our doors to customers,” Ducat said. “And that’s a good thing.

“That’s how you create the best center with the best ideas, and that’s what we plan to do right here in Toledo.”•

Stay tuned to International Bowling Industry magazine as we take you inside the complete renovation of IncrediBowl Entertainment in Toledo!