THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
CONTENTS
VOL 21.9
6 ISSUE AT HAND
32 Bowling Coast to Coast
In Your Words
A preview of the upcoming ECBCC and WCBC
By Scott Frager
PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Chris Holmes holmes@bowlingindustry.com
By Jackie Wyckoff OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath heath@bowlingindustry.com
8 SHORTS • A “No Go” for Qubica Worldwide sale to Bowltech • Bowling is high on the list for summer reading. • October is “Learn to Bowl” month. • Love on the lanes at Lee’s Lanes in Vandergrift, PA
CONTRIBUTORS
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38 IN MY WORDS On the Square In our inaugural column written by an IBI reader, proprietor Ted Hoffman recollects his relationship with bowling great Earl Anthony. By Ted Hoffman
Compiled by Patty Heath
54 REMEMBER WHEN
18 PRO SHOP SERIES
1942
PRESENTED BY
Coca Cola: That Extra Something! 24
By Patty Heath
Talking Shop Our pro shop series continues with a profile of jack-of-all-trades Jim Lang. By Mark Mille
44 Datebook 46 Showcase
24 COVER STORY
47 Classifieds
Kick Your Feet Up At O’Learys Billed as “your second living room,” the Swedish chain banks on the addition of bowling to its business model. By Fred Groh
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Fred Groh Patty Heath Ted Hoffman Mark Miller Jackie Wyckoff
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424
FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)
12655 Ventura Boulevard Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy of International Bowling Industry is sent free to every bowling center, independently owned pro shop and collegiate bowling center in the U.S., and every military bowling center and pro shop worldwide. Publisher reserves the right to provide free subscriptions to those individuals who meet publication qualifications. Additional subscriptions may be purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50 per year. Subscriptions for Canada and Mexico are $65 per year, all other foreign subscriptions are $80 per year. All foreign subscriptions should be paid in U.S. funds using International Money Orders. POSTMASTER: Please send new as well as old address to International Bowling Industry, 12655 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2013, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
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THE ISSUE AT HAND
In Your Words Everyone has a story to tell. One can’t be in the business of bowling without having a certain character, flair, style or history . . . in other words, a story or two. For the past two decades, International Bowling Industry has fished for stories casting our nets far and wide. And, we’ve been so incredibly fortunate to have “hooked” so many amazing personalities who’ve shared their personal and professional stories within the pages of the magazine. Some characters have been jubilant and others weary. Some seem larger-than-life, others are more grounded. Some featured centers could be considered grand cathedrals built to last the test of time or are steeped in tradition with a rich history. Others, sadly, have felt the heavy, overwhelming burden of time and changing demographics. However, one thing has always remained constant in the bowling business and has shone within the words and photos printed in the pages of IBI -- the spirit and passion of those who bleed bowling. This month, IBI embarks on a new fishing expedition, of sorts. We proudly launch a new
editorial section titled “In My Words.” It’s in this section you, the reader, have an opportunity to speak your mind and share your thoughts about the business, sport, personalities and industry we call ours. Feel free to highlight the history of your center, the siren call you heard that drew you into the business, the time you felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel only to discover that the light was there all the time and all you needed to do was to open your eyes to the realm of possibilities. This is no time to be shy. Feel free to boast about your latest, most amazing promotions and laugh about the ones that sank to the bottom of the sea like a 500 pound steel anchor. No need to pretend you’re Ernest Hemingway writing The Old Man and the Sea, we’ll edit your work and make your words shine. Everyone has a story to tell, what’s yours? Submissions are open now. Simply email editorial director Jackie Fisher at Fisher@bowlingindustry.com. – SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com
THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com Bowl Expo is over. The carpets were rolled up, the NASCAR autos were driven off the floor, exhibitors packed up their wares and attendees went back to their centers and businesses. Were you there? What did you think? Was Bowl Expo a HIT or a MISS? No one knows better than those who were there. Your opinions are not only valid, they are important. IBI Online has just the place for constructive comments – the Forum. Good dialogue begins with a reaction and then sharing, listening and responding. Did you get out of the Expo what you hoped to? What were the pluses and minuses, if any. Don’t be shy. This is your industry and this is your website. Have an opinion, but are not a member? Well, that’s an easy fix. A FREE membership is at your fingertips. Go to www.bowlingindustry.com and sign up now! Let your voice be heard. 6
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SHORTS
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL LEARN TO BOWL MONTH The BPAA and its member centers are on a campaign to put bowling balls in the hands of more people. October has been designated National Learn to Bowl Month. Each BPAA member center is encouraged to conduct a Learn to Bowl program using Bowling 2.0, a program designed to introduce bowling to newcomers, and then roll the bowlers into a short season program to start November 1. The majority of bowling centers in America floor their traditional fall leagues between mid-August and midSeptember, making October a great opportunity for proprietors to fill their open lanes with new bowlers. Bowling 2.0 has been found to be a great way to introduce the sport of bowling. Over 700 BPAA member centers already have a Bowling 2.0 kit. The results from nine test centers, representing different markets around the U.S., show a 70% conversion rate to league play. Out of approximately 39 participants per center, 27 rolled into a short season program. To incentivize this October push, participating centers will be included in divisions based on lane size, and the top five centers in each division will be recognized with cash prizes.
DROPS ITS SALE OPTION Based on a company press release, QubicaAMF Worldwide, SARL (QubicaAMF) has announced that its potential purchase by Bowltech International B.V. (Bowltech), first announced in 2012, is no longer being pursued. Both Qubica Worldwide and Bowlmor AMF which was formed from the recent emergence of AMF Bowling Worldwide (AMF) from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, hold 50% ownership in the company. These two shareholders have decided to refocus their attention toward future opportunities at Qubica AMF negating any future plans to sell. Tom Shannon, chairman, CEO and president of Bowlmor AMF said, “We are excited to hold an ownership position in QubicaAMF and to be part of the future of the company.” John Walker, the CEO of QubicaAMF shared, “Under the circumstances a year ago, a transaction with Bowltech presented a great opportunity for QubicaAMF. However, with the full support of our new ownership team, a transaction is no longer needed in order to continue to deliver innovative, quality products that make our customers more successful.” While no longer in a position to buy, Bowltech still maintains a strong strategic alliance with QubicaAMF as the exclusive distributor in Denmark, Sweden, the Benelux (comprising Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), Germany, Austria and parts of Switzerland and as the Master Distributor for QubicaAMF Aftermarket Products throughout Europe.
Late Summer Reading One can find a plethora of Lebowski bowling books …well, at least a handful. But for a summer read that is heartwarming and relatable, Jude Morgan’s National Past Time: Kingpin Alley might just be what the doctor ordered for those hot days by the pool or lake. Published by iUniverse and available on Amazon, it is a novel based on life in a bowling alley. Situated in the upstate New York village of Koopersville, character Peter Fox knew his calling was to be a bowling proprietor. In 1962, he opened his dream center, and it was there that life happened for him, his family and the whole community. As stated in the product description, “In the game of bowling there is only one way to salvage your score, and that is to throw strikes. Perfect games are hard to come by. But in life, as Paul [Peter’s son] soon finds out, there are always new beginnings, new games to be played, and old memories that can never be taken away.” 8
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SHORTS
IT’S TIME TO
ROAD BOWL AGAIN
Irish road bowling, a not so distant cousin of bowling and a 300-year-old sport in Ireland, was exported to West Virginia in 1995. Referred to as the Old Game, it has been a keeper since. Right for any age, it is a good walk on a country road interspersed with hurling a 28-oz. “bowl” in an underhand motion over a one to two mile stretch. The fewest number of shots from the start to the finish line wins. Besides a well-organized group in West Virginia, there are also leagues in Boston and New York. The Wild and Wonderful West Virginia Irish Road Bowling Association (WVIRBA) touts it’s like bowling but with enough room to run 10 to 15 yards.
Jerod Putnam, a founder of WV Irish Road bowling throws; WVU Mountaineer Jay Hatfield guards the line at the 2012 North American Region Finals.
Irish road bowling is ideal for young athletes or seniors who are looking to enjoy a scenic walk on a country road, combined with an ancient and exciting, but not overly strenuous, sport! For information: www.wvirba.org.
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IN REMEMBRANCE Jack Kelly Former BPAA CEO Jack Kelly passed away July 24th in Lexington, KY, after a two-year battle with bladder cancer. He was 68. Kelly helmed BPAA from 2000-2002 and was a strong proponent of including bowling in the Olympic Games. A regular bowler throughout high school and college (bowling both tenpin and candlepin), his rekindled interest began in 1988 when he roomed with USA Olympic bowler, Mark Lewis, in Olympic Family Town in Seoul, Korea while working for the Olympic festivals. To garner interest in bowling, Kelly promoted a bowling tournament within the 1994 Goodwill Games in Russia at the two-lane Pribaltiskaya Hotel bowling “center”– at the time St. Petersburg, Russia's only lanes. Mr. Kelly is survived by his wife Kathy and children, Michael Kelly and Kerry Lynn Schatz.
John Jowdy PBA Hall of Famer and pioneer bowling coach John Jowdy of El Cajon, CA, died in August of natural causes. He was 93. Jowdy was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1988 primarily for his coaching contributions but was also a prolific bowling writer and industry advocate. He was president of the Bowling Writers Association of America in 1996. In 2006, he was named the International Bowling Coach of the Year by the World Bowling Writers. Jowdy began coaching in Texas in the 1940s and ‘50s. Since the late ‘60s he had coached more than 100 professional and amateur men and women bowlers. He joined Columbia 300 in 1962 and worked for many years as the company’s traveling salesman, PR spokesman and PBA Tour representative.
SHORTS
GOODWILL CENTRAL
Here is just a smattering of bowling events held around the country benefitting communities, organizations and people in general.
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Staunton Bowling Lanes, Staunton, VA, was the center of choice for the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Foundation’s second annual Bubbles and Bowling fundraiser held in June. The event raises funds to support job training and medical treatment for Virginians with disabilities at the rehabilitation center. Each five-member team was asked to raise $500 to support the Foundation. The bubbles? Champagne, of course! Bowling for Barbershop drew more than 23,000 members and friends for the Sweet Adelines International and its chapters worldwide in July. Members bowled in centers across the globe raising funds for music education programs, membership growth/retention and chapter expenses. In Illinois, Don Carter Lanes in Rockford and Wheaton Bowl in Wheaton hosted events for their local chapters, River City Sound Chorus and Choral-Aires respectively. Bowl-4-Animal Rescue held its eighth annual event once again at Country Lanes in Farmington Hills, MI. All the proceeds benefit Friends of the Dearborn Animal Shelter and Michigan Animal Adoption Network. In July, SBS Group, a consulting firm focusing on accounting and business solutions for mid-sized companies, invited employees and friends to participate in the third annual Wacky Bowling event to benefit Make-A-Wish ® New Jersey. Over 7,200 wishes of children between the ages of 2 ½ and 18 with life threatening medical conditions have been granted since the New Jersey chapter was founded in 1983. The event was held at Knob Hill Country Lanes in Manalapan, NJ. To celebrate the opening of Brunswick’s new upscale bowling and entertainment center, Brunswick’s, in Norcross, GA, the center hosted an event benefiting Bert’s Big Adventure, a charity that sends Atlanta-area chronic and terminally ill children and their families to Walt Disney World. More than 260 guests bowled 312 strikes for which Brunswick’s donated $10 per strike, raising $3,120. What is your center doing? Email Patty Heath at heath@bowlingindustry.com.
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NEIGHBORS ARE GOOD FRIENDS Angels come in all shapes and sizes and in this case in the form of the nextdoor-neighbor bowling center. In July, an early-morning fire closed the Ale House Sports Pub & Eatery in University Place, WA, and put 17 employees out of work for an estimated two months. Narrows Plaza Bowl is across the parking lot from the Ale House. While trying to get a handle on all that would have to be done, general manager Craig Dickens got a visit from Narrows Plaza Bowl manager Mary Ann Greenfield. According to The News Tribune, Greenfield, whose center does not serve lunch, presented him with an idea. Greenfield said to Dickens, “While your employees are out of work, how about if we hire them temporarily and open for lunch? We’ll give your customers a home away from home until you reopen.” Dickens let his staff decide individually. Greenfield came away with at least six new part-time employees. Totally altruistic? No. Greenfield joked that she would get to open for lunch and maybe build some new customers. Since not all of the employees walked across the parking lot, Sue Peters, the Ale House manager devised another plan. “Craig [Ale House GM] told us we’re all on salary, and given that, I’m going to start scheduling some of our employees to help out outside the Ale House,” she said. “We can replant the flower gardens, paint fresh lines in the parking lot, maybe sand down some old bar stools, make Employees move outside to help bring the them new again.” Oh, an added Ale House back to normal after a fire. perk, those working part-time at Narrows Plaza Bowl get to bowl for 50 cents a line. It sounds like a bevy of angels hovers over University Place.
SHORTS
“… and let no bowling pin put asunder ” “I think all weddings should represent the personality of the couple,” shared Rev. Terri Swails of Boiling Springs Presbyterian Church. And while that is true of most weddings through the colors the bride selects for dresses and flowers that are displayed, it was even more striking for David and Becky Hill. Their choice of venue was lanes 16 and 17 at Lee’s Lanes in Vandergrift, PA. Bride Becky belongs to three bowling leagues and groom David has been brushing up on his game since they met. Deborah and Richard Snyder, owners of Lee’s Lanes, helped the couple carry out the theme. In lieu of a cake topper, two bowling pins— one decorated and dressed as a bride, the other as a groom—graced the tiered wedding cake. After sharing their first married kiss and lighting a white candle symbolizing their union, the Hills wrapped up the ceremony by simultaneously sending bowling balls down the lanes. Love is not new to Lee’s Lanes. The Snyders met at the center. When Richard, who purchased the business in 1988, met Deborah, a regular bowler at the center, it was love at first sight. Another patron and wedding guest, Dale Lookabaugh, proposed to his wife at lanes 25 and 26. So far this was the first wedding but with that kind of vibe, one wouldn’t be surprised if this is only the beginning.
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David and Becky sharing a kiss at the end of the ceremony. Credit: Bill Shirley, Valley News Dispatch
SHORTS
EXPANSIONS, OPENINGS & NEW BEGINNINGS Little’s Lanes in Great Falls, MT, has been closed since September 2012 due to a water main break which flooded and rendered the center uninhabitable. With a settlement from the insurance carrier, rebuilding has begun. Owner Mel Willey is working with Brunswick to begin work. Synthetic lanes will replace the wooden lanes installed more than a half-century ago. There will also be new state-of-the-art automatic electronic scorers, complete with flatscreen monitors and ball racks under the scorers for storage of extra balls. The pinsetters will get new parts, plus new carpet for the entire building. The total tab? The rebuilding is estimated at over a half million dollars.
Eldersburg, MD, has welcomed bowling back into town. The center which was Cross Roads Bowling Center has reopened as Freedom Lanes and offers leagues, parties, arcade games and snacks. Another transition is the former Skylane Bowl in Minneapolis which has been renovated and opened as Town Hall Lanes.
The Bowling Foundation and the American Heart Association team up The Bowling Foundation and the American Heart Association will combine forces to deliver Bowler’s Ed In-School Bowling program kits to elementary and middle schools throughout the country. More than 30,000 schools take part in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart programs. As part of a two-year agreement, The Bowling Foundation will send 350 Bowler’s Ed kits to schools as a benefit for reaching certain goals through these programs. “Together, the two organizations have the ability to not only encourage living a healthy lifestyle, but show children fun ways to achieve their goals,“ shared Nancy Schenk, president of The Bowling Foundation. 16
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After 34 years, Centennial Lanes in Longmont, CO, is undergoing a major interior makeover. For the past decade, the owners have been spending money on improving the bowling equipment, including the lanes, new pinsetters, software and scoring equipment. Now it is time to refresh the interior which includes new carpeting, lighting and painting the walls as a start. The new design will offer an arcade, party room and a lounge. Windows instead of walls will divide the lounge from the lanes.
Classic Lanes in Oak Creek, WI, is now owned, as The Business Journal phrased it, by two bowling business lifers. Ed Vahradian, Jr., owner of the South Milwaukee Arcade, and Gary Daroszewski, owner of Classic Lanes Menomonee Falls, purchased the 20-lane center. The first course of action will be to update the seating, scoring monitors and sound and lighting for midnight bowling.
Bowling and a Healthier You Bowling is good entertainment, touted for date nights, time with friends relaxing with a glass of wine or beer, yummy food, just hanging out, a birthday party, a bar or bat mitzvah, a charity event or any other excuse you can imagine. But, what about its health aspects? With all the cures for shrinking widening middles, did it ever occur to you that just a good night of bowling might be the answer to a slimmer, healthier you? Bowling can be a healthy exercise, both physically and mentally. According to the USBC website, bowlers burn 100 calories per hour, use 134 muscles in a traditional four-step approach, and build stronger bones and muscles since it is a weightbearing sport. Bowling balls weigh between 8 and 16 pounds. In addition, bowlers can sustain hand-eye coordination, as well as promoting better balance. You will walk a mile bowling a typical three-game series. More and more school districts are promoting bowling as part of their curriculum. Bossier City, LA, has developed an in-school program with the help of Holiday Lanes and the In-School Bowling program. Holiday Lanes provides the Bossier Parish School Board with 60 portable lanes that teachers can check out at any time. Fred Gross, owner of Gateway Lanes, MI, asked Clare County Board of Education to consider adding bowling as a varsity sport. “Over half of all high schools in the country have bowling as a varsity sport,” Gross said to Pat Maurer, correspondent for the Clare County Review. Doane College in Nebraska announced that it will add wrestling and bowling to its intercollegiate athletics lineup for the 2013-14 school year. Maybe the push for athletic acceptance will be just the thing to put kids and adults back on the lanes and not just for entertainment.
By Mark Miller ther than owning a center or working for an industry manufacturer, name an occupation in bowling and Jim Lang has pretty much done it. He's drilled bowling balls at his pro shops in Oregon and Oklahoma. The AccuSpan grip system is just one of his many inventions. He designed the Great Balls of Fire family entertainment center in McAlester, OK, where he's currently located. Organizing leagues and tournaments and coaching bowlers are among his many other duties. He even rolled a 298 game in 2002 as part of 30 consecutive USBC tournaments and has succeeded in numerous other major events. Did we mention he looks Lang shows off his inventions (from left to right) the Classic enough like members of legendary AccuSpan, the Fine Tuning tool and the Measuring Stick. Southern rock music group ZZ Top that he's signed drummer Dusty Garden Bowl. “I walked in and everyone was rightHill's name? Or that he could easily handed so I thought that was the rule,” he said. “I didn't pass for Uncle Sy from the current know the difference.” Lang quickly realized he was pretty hit cable reality show Duck The complete Ultimate AccuSpan system. good as a right-hander and started competing with Dynasty? other people in tournaments, seeing the country and Yes, the 54-year-old Lang is as unique as they making enough money to leave Michigan. come with a story that not-surprisingly starts in “I'm in the process of filling out some paperwork to be considered for bowling-crazy Detroit. His first bowling experience the Oklahoma Bowling Hall of Fame and figured I've bowled in tournaments came at age 7 at Garden Bowl. By 16, he was in 27 states,” he said. “I've traveled the country and seen parts of the competing against adults on a local Bowling with country many people don't get to see.” the Champs television show where he beat USBC One of those places was Hawaii where he moved after graduating high Hall of Famer Bob Strampe. school. He made enough money to relocate to California about a year later “It was a sport I could play,” he said. “When where a Japanese engineering consultant company hired him to work at you're a kid and you're not good at baseball, not water and treatment facilities. He learned the nuances of the trade from good at football and you're not a coach's friend, you Yosh Katsura, one of the designers of California's aqueduct system. sit on the bench and this is a sport where you didn't Katsura gave him a Polaroid camera and a catalog and had Lang spend have to sit on the bench and you can participate. the first 18 months in the field. “I learned more from that man than from And that's what I liked about it. It was me against any engineering school,” he said. He remained there until 1990 when he the pins, and I could do what I wanted to do.” moved to Oklahoma to be near his mother after his father died. He took Though a natural left-hander, Lang bowled righta job designing marinas while also drilling bowling balls at his home in handed because that's what his younger self saw at Hartshorne, about 15 miles from McAlester.
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Exterior of Great Balls of Fire.
Lang and an old California friend Joey Borgaro continued to travel the tournament circuit at legendary events like the Lilac, Hoinke, Petersen, High Roller and Bowlerama. Around 2000, Borgaro and wife Sherry were managing AMF Albany (OR) Lanes and asked Lang and a man named Kevin Henderson to take over the pro shop and teach bowling to the center's more than 100 students. After working in Oregon for several years, Lang returned to McAlester where he taught at the old Rocket Bowl until it closed in 2009. Always the tournament bowler, Lang carried his own workout tool to adjust his equipment. Being an engineer, he naturally liked tinkering with things. So he put his two passions together with a three-in-one device he calls a fine-tuning tool. One compartment holds a bevel knife, another a scraper while a third contains a workout wrench for heavy work. Take off a little cap for another cutter and a screw driver. Lang said the tool did well for him as it was sold by several companies worldwide. The idea for his biggest invention came after a customer in Albany dropped and broke the Jayhawk ball fitter he had just purchased. “I loved the Jayhawk because it does everything you want it to do but the problem is when it broke, you got in trouble,” he said. “The other thing I noticed about it was I couldn't do little kids, short spans. So I came home and decided to design something of my own. I wanted something simple, fast and durable.” That something was the AccuSpan which came out in the mid-2000s. He created three versions: The Classic (plain metal can), The Master (rotating ovals) and The Ultimate (interchangeable inserts). Though he's sold about 200 and still has some available when asked, he stopped producing them when his elderly mother became ill and he had the opportunity to become directly involved with Great Balls of Fire. 20
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When McAlester residents Larry and Beth Bernhardt decided the community needed a family entertainment facility after Rocket Bowl closed, they brought Lang on board because of his bowling background. “Larry asked me if I was interested in designing a bowling center that fit everybody's needs in the area, from kids to parties to competitive bowling, everything,” Lang said. “I said 'I'd love to!' I'd designed things in California but never from the ground up. He told me I could go to 35,000 square feet and it ended up being 38,300. I'm a little over but we didn't change anything. He let me do what I wanted to do with this facility. He put a lot of trust in me to do this and, between me and him, we did the construction management.” The Bernhardts also traveled the country to pick up ideas and came up with a unique place with wide concourses and themed throughout in 1950s décor. Large mural photos adorn the walls above and to the sides of the lanes. There's a large gaming area, bumper car track, 9-hole neon miniature golf course, and rock climbing wall. Seating for bowlers consists of long vinyl couches. The adult “Board Room Lounge” features vintage pictures of Frank Sinatra. The Happy Days Hotel owned by the Bernhardts and Angel's Diner owned by their daughter are situated at the front of the property. Lang's pro shop currently can be found behind a temporary wall next to lane 16 in a space designed for four additional lanes. It's where he keeps some of his inventions; the rest he keeps at home where most of his ideas are created. Another of his gadgets is what he calls the measuring stick that he uses in conjunction with a pitch gauge. “These are really the tools I'm Lang helps a local customer get the perfect grip.
The Lang-designed interior of Great Balls of Fire.
using right now,” he said. “I had kind of stopped for health reasons with my mom passing away, but I'm going to go back to making them again.” He has two other prototypes, one a self-centered, spring-loaded pitch gauge, the other to measure oval span. Unfortunately he doesn't have the money to create more of them. “I want bowlers to get better,” said Lang, who earned his Bronze-level certification from the former USA Bowling coaching program. “Everybody drills differently, everybody measures
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differently, but if the tools read the stuff the same, you get a better answer. I just want to improve the sport of bowling.” He does his best to improve bowling in the McAlester area in every way he can. Though not officially the manager, he oversees everything related to bowling. The never-married Lang couldn't be happier. “If I want to bowl a tournament and spend every dime I've got to do it, I'm not affecting my family,” said Lang, who has averaged just short of 190 for his 30 USBCs. “I didn't want to take it from them but didn't want to give it up either. “The coolest thing for me in bowling is having the ability to be in this place and having designed it. The tools are cool for the bowling industry and, yeah, I'm a tournament player and good at that stuff and I love coaching but to actually see something you always dreamed about being built, …even though you don't own the place, everything's here anybody could want.” ❖
Mark Miller is a freelance writer from Flower Mound, Texas. He is the national and Dallas-Fort Worth bowling writer for Examiner.com and a columnist for the Bowling News Network.
COVER STORY
By Fred Groh onas Reinholdsson remembers one day at the Club Car bar in Nantucket off the Massachusetts coast because of two things that happened at the same time. He was mixing up a double Bloody Mary for a very hung-over Ted Kennedy and a girl named Anne walked into the bar. The story goes that while he was pouring her a Schlitz, they fell in love. Reinholdsson was in the States at the invitation of some people he had met in Grenada. They owned the bar and offered to put him to work if he was ever interested. He was, and fell in love a second time: with the Irishpub atmosphere of restaurants around Boston. When he returned to Sweden, he called Anne. “Why don’t you come to Sweden and marry me, and I’d like to open up a restaurant and name it for your family.” The family name was O’Leary. She did and he did. Reinholdsson’s enterprise, which today is a franchise operation under the name O’Learys Trademark AB, was off and running. That was in 1988. The man who told us that story is Wilhelm Vintilescu, CEO of O’Learys, who says his ten years at the helm have been a lot of hard work and a lot of fun. From 16 O’Learys and a small office, he has overseen the company’s growth to 83 franchised units in seven countries. Income last year was about (U.S.) $169 million.
J
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COVER STORY
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ith th Reinholdsson w ... g in n in eg b e In th . ry and his family ea ’L O e n n A e if w
e inspiration fo
O’Learys is mainly a casualdining restaurant and sports bar but five years ago it began adding bowling lanes. The company runs four business models under the O’Learys name: • Snack bars, about 650-1,600 square feet, seating 20-95. They feature a full bar and appetizers that include wings, baby back riblets, nachos and quesadillas. Target locations are airports, sports arenas, attractions, and railway stations. • Small bar-and-restaurant units, 1,600-4,300 square feet, seating 80-200. Down-sized food and beverage menu. Target locations: airports, arenas, attractions, and railway stations. • Full bar-and-restaurant units, 4,300-10,800 square feet, seating 150-340. Target locations are downtown standalone, airports, arenas, attractions, railway stations. • Bowling and event center units, 10,800-48,400 square feet, seating 300-650. Targeted for shopping centers, arenas, standalone. To American eyes, the design and decor of an O’Learys—
rant with bowling, the restau At one of the locations the lanes. seating looks out onto 26
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r
with its green walls, dark hardwoods and brass detailing—say “Irish.” In Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Singapore, where O’Learys currently has its franchises, it all looks American. That’s the intention. Ask the waitstaff about the selections, and you may be told that a lot of the menu is Tex-Mex and classic American. The bar proudly offers a range of American beers and the house O’Learys, his wine is always American. Promotional illustrations produced by company headquarters consistently stress the American connection. The branding gives O’Learys a generic quality that is one of the secrets of its success, according to Vintilesco. His word for it is “neutral.” “We are neutral. We have the atmosphere, the coziness, the glimpse of America. We are America” to O’Learys customers. At all the locations, small and large, the focal point is the bar, and customers can’t very well miss it. It’s always positioned to be visible from the outside and to guests immediately upon entering. As to the decor, Vintilescu describes O’Learys as “a neighborhood Bostonian-type restaurant.” “We’re more Bostonian than Boston itself,” and there’s a twinkle in his voice, referring to memorabilia of Boston sports teams and Boston-area celebrities that flavor the locations. “You’ve never seen so much memorabilia in [a] restaurant as we have.” This, too, Reinholdsson picked up from restaurants and bars around Boston where he would find local mementos on display. That much of the O’Learys concept worked very well indeed for the company’s first 20 years or so. Early in its third decade, bowling was added. So successful has it been that Vintilescu
The Brunsw
ick lanes glo
w.
COVER STORY likes to say that today “we’re standing for something we call eatertainment. Eatertainment is a combination of bowling, yes, and restaurant.” Seventeen of the 84 (total) locations offer bowling. Installations range from 10 to 20 lanes. “If you traditionally look at what you can do in a bowling center, you can have some snacks and some quite poor casual dining food. We come from the other side, from the casual dining and restaurant experience, with that experience going together well with bowling people. Vintilescu d esc “Bowling people are serious, hard-working, type restaura ribes O’Learys as a neig hb nt enthusiastic. They like what they’re doing, they’re Boston itself where, “We’re more B orhood Bostonianostonian tha .” passionate for bowling, and we are passionate n for the restaurant business. So when 1 and 1 meet, we get 3, a success.” Soon that success will include 16 lanes in an O’Learys to be part of a new Stockholm soccer stadium seating 35,000. Once it’s finished, “when people go to see a good game of sport or “We do have restaurants with just bowling,” 14 to be exact, a concert, they can finish off in the restaurant having a good “then we have three facilities which are event centers,” such game of bowling or they could meet up with friends and then as the Stockholm stadium location. “When you look at American go to the stadium.” Either way, before or after, they could also event centers, they are huge, they’re screaming. We do them enjoy some mini golf, table tennis, billiards or race-car simulators, so you go there with your family and you still have that cozy besides the food and drink—all to be part of the O’Learys. restaurant feeling. When you go to do the bowling, you have
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a casual adium to provide st g in at se a es clud ents. An interior plan in watch sporting ev to s on tr pa r fo e yet efficient spac the restaurant quite close. You can always feel at home, like you’re in a second living room.” In fact, “Your second living room” is an O’Learys slogan. “One or two” of the 17 bowling locations offer sport bowling. The others are aimed at “more family-oriented bowling, fun bowling.” Vintilescu sees the opening of 20-25 O’Learys a year over the next five years, with 20-25% of them to include bowling. ”I hope we will do some really good contracts down in the Arab countries, India, and in Asia. I think also we’ll have some business in Brazil and England. I was It’s all sports down in Germany just a couple of weeks ago. Today my all the team came up with seven [franchise] prospects in Munich and Hamburg.” In March, O’Learys Trademark and Brunswick signed a global accord that Vintilescu thinks will make a big difference in his company’s further growth. Brunswick has already supplied the equipment for 15 O’Learys bowling locations and will be the exclusive future supplier under the agreement. “We will get access to all their distributors and channels,” Vintilescu explains. “We are also greatly greeted by the Brunswick people and those who have bowling and feel that their restaurant is not up to the level they could do, and new people that might like to invest in new bowling.” Ironically it was one of Sweden’s oldest bowling businesses that brought O’Learys and Brunswick together. The Stockholm proprietor, who had been in the business for 30 years, wanted to upgrade his F&B and decided on O’Learys. In the course of discussions, he suggested to Vintilescu that a call on Brunswick might be worth his while. Vintilescu liked the idea. “I don’t know much more about bowling than it’s very fun, and I need to rely on people with all the skills in the world to fulfill what I like to do.” O’Learys expansion into the U.S. is not on the slate so far, though. The American market is “quite complicated,” Vintilescu reflects, and again he brings up the “neutrality” of the O’Learys brand. “Would someone in Los Angeles go 30
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to a Bostonian sports bar? We only have memorabilia of Boston teams and the Kennedy family and Harvard and I’m not sure they would.” In other countries, Boston can be a “thread that makes us coherent,” but in America, Boston means a distinctive region of the country that may not appeal in every other region. In the rest of the world, Boston can mean American and that allows O’Learys to fit in locally anywhere. “Wherever we go around the world, we can be part of the local tradition. I’m not sure we could do that in the States.” Then there’s the sheer size of the U.S. market.
time at O’Leary
s.
“Just a few weeks ago I was with Gary [Smith, Brunswick’s vice president of international sales] and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I really fancied the food and the casual atmosphere. That’s quick-service meals. [800+] stores. Everything can grow so big over there [U.S.]. “But who wouldn’t like to make it there?” he adds. “I would be so proud.” ❖
Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.
PREVIEW
By Jackie Wyckoff
T
he West Coast Bowling Convention is gambling on Reno as the venue of choice for the 2013 convention and trade show. The Silver Legacy Resort and Casino will host the events from Sunday, November 3, through Tuesday, November 5. The convention will kick-off with a welcome reception on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the National Bowling Stadium. “We are looking forward to returning to Reno this year,” said convention chairman Jim Decker of Double Decker Lanes, Rohnert Park, CA. “It is easier to get to for the majority of our attendees and less expensive than our experience in Las Vegas last year.” This year’s lineup of educational seminars will include information on healthcare reform and demographics seminar presented by Bart Burger, BPAA vice president of business development. “We are excited as our WCBC education chairperson Jason Altman has lined up a service seminar with Disney Company, and we will also have BPAA on board with a seminar about how to market to your area's demographic profile,” said Decker. A special motivational seminar titled Unleash
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PREVIEW Type A Performers will be presented by Debby Seltzer Cummins, certified executive coach and former Disney employee. The seminar will focus on coaching to bowlers’ strengths, discovering what motivates and creating a plan for sustaining and elevating motivation. “I believe we have a great lineup with topics that will appeal to all proprietors and key personnel,” said Altman of Gage Bowl in Huntington Park, CA. “It's going to be our best education program in years! I'm excited for this year’s show and know that all attendees will get a tremendous return on their investment of time and money.” In a departure from past years, the exhibits and trade
show portion of the convention will be a one-day event on Monday, November 3, from noon until 4:00 p.m. NorCal Bowling Centers executive director Sandi Thompson explained that the one-day show “will be easier and more convenient for the vendors.” Major sponsors returning to the convention this year are Bob Herzog Insurance, the National Bowling Stadium, Brunswick and Shock Top Beer, an AnheuserBusch brand. Side action fundraisers will include a reverse raffle, silent auction and Bingo. Board and committee meetings are scheduled for Sunday with the general membership meeting on Tuesday. ❖
For more attendee or exhibitor information contact Sandi Thompson at sandit@norcalbowling.com.
T
he Atlantic City hotel, Revel, will be the site for the 2013 East Coast Bowling Centers Convention and Trade Show, the largest regional bowling convention in the U.S.A. Events will take center stage from Sunday, October 6, through Wednesday, October 9. “We are very excited going into the East Coast show this year with a great line-up of education/networking/exhibitors and the addition of the BPAA Bowling University Management School partnering with us for the first time” said LeeAnn Norton, BPAA director of events. “After seeing the resurgence of attendance at Expo this year, we feel like the energy has started, and we are the next step to keep it going.” 34
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The jewel of the educational seminars this year is the addition of the BPAA Bowling University School of Bowling Management. The condensed, four-day class features an up-to-date curriculum that applies both to traditional bowling centers and family entertainment centers alike. Topics covered include: customer service, food and beverage, financial analysis, human resources, leadership, marketing and demographics, and party planning. The instructors represent some of
PREVIEW
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the finest the bowling industry has to offer. Scott Frager, general manager of Pinz Bowling Center in Los Angeles and publisher of IBI, attended the Bowling U seminar in May and summed up his experience by noting “You would be fortunate to attend the BPAA Bowling Management School. You will come away metamorphosed, just like a furry caterpillar transforms into an elegant butterfly. To duly laud the team of instructors would be so genuinely sugary that dentists would surely scoff at my comments.” Frager, who has been tagged to moderate an industry panel with Steve Johnson, Stu Upson and Keith Hamilton, IBMHF, added “I personally attest that you will at least triple your registration fee in revenues in the first weeks after taking the course.” Other education seminars include Attitude, Service, Goals, Adversity; Service that Sells; Using 36
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Technology and Apps; Changing the Field; Energy Savings in Your Center; Corporate Parties; Bowling 2.0; Creating a Profitable Foodservice Operation; Giving Your Saturday Youth Program a Boost; MHL Promotions to Increase Sales and Profit; Making Open Play a Bigger Contributor. Jack Moran, ECBCC convention chairman, said “The team has worked hard to put together an incredible lineup of educational seminars this year. We wanted to give the attendees a truly interactive, handson experience. We believe the best way to succeed is by taking an active role in the learning process.” One of the featured seminars is Best Practices for Food and Beverage Operations facilitated by Jack Crawford, president and chief executive of the Freeport, Maine-based Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative. Crawford knows something about taking a brand from zero to hero. In February of 2004, the Ground Round chain closed 59 company owned stores, and in some cases diners were asked to leave the restaurant midmeal. Shortly thereafter, the company filed for bankruptcy. "It was shocking. We didn't know it was going to be that drastic," Crawford recalls. Nearly 10 years after being purchased out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by its franchisees, Ground Round once again is plotting a growth trajectory that could boost its unit count by almost 50 percent over the next several years. Hundreds of exhibitors will be on hand during the trade show portion of the event on Tuesday, October 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with a strolling reception sponsored by Ace Mitchell/Bowlers Mart. The trade show will also be open Wednesday, October 9, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The REV it UP reception, sponsored by MillerCoors, and the REV it UP banquet, sponsored by QubicaAMF, will cap the convention festivities on Wednesday evening. ❖ For more attendee or exhibitor information log on to www.eastcoastbowl.com, or contact Drew Gunnert at drew@bpaa.com.
Jackie Wyckoff, who started bowling in 1968, is a San Francisco (CA) Bay Area native, avid Giants fan and gourmet chef. She was President of the Bowling Writers Association of America, 2009-2011. Wyckoff has worked and volunteered in the bowling industry since 1972 with jobs including Center Manager, USBC (WIBC) Association President and Writer and Promoter for all things Bowling. She was a PWBA Regional Player with several state and local titles to her credit.
IN MY WORDS By Ted Hoffman Jr.
ON THE SQUARE
He was called Square Earl, among other nicknames.
Ted Hoffman remembers Earl Anthony as just that, in the best sense of the word.
O
took over Dublin Bowl [Dublin, CA] in 1980. I had been working there with his son, Mike, who was hosting PBA regionals, and I was the Western Region director. When Earl took over the bowl, I was able to spend some time with him again. He contacted me about helping him out in 1984. By then he had two centers, Dublin, 40 lanes, and Danville Bowl, about ten miles away [Danville, CA], 24 lanes. He was out on the tour a lot, so he was not there taking care of the business personally. He needed some help because he was having to put money into the business, and he wanted to know if I was interested. I said “Sure,” so I became an independent contractor with him through ’84. I had to figure out a way to stop the spending going on in the business. It turned out that there were some employee problems, so I changed the atmosphere of the bowl. I put in a system for the accounting and administrative work, a new concept on both customer and operations sides at both bowls. After we settled a lot of the problems, he started to see signs that the business was doing well, and I asked him if I could become a partner. He wasn’t interested. Earl’s routine was to come to the bowl weekday mornings about 7, 7:30 and practice before anybody else came in. I used to get to the bowl at 10 o’clock. He would meet with me around 10 and we would go over the business. He would call his financial advisors—he was into the stock market—and discuss how the market was going. Then we’d sit and talk for a half-hour or so, and he’d leave. Ted and Marilynn, Susie and Earl at the Kessler Open, Dublin Bowl, 1985. After that, he would go to the Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, where he had a home on the golf course and was a member, and he would play golf. That was basically his work day. Whether it was raining or cold, he always wanted to play golf. Sometimes he would go out by himself and play golf in the rain, he enjoyed it so much. We got the bowls turned around and in April of 1985, which was 14 or 15 months after I started, it was a rainy day, he was up at the golf course and he called me up and said, “Why don’t you come to lunch?” We went to lunch, and he said he had changed his mind, that he was interested in having me for a business partner. We had a couple of drinks. We started talking. I said, “I’d like to get something in writing.” He literally wrote out a contract on the paper placemat, signed it, and said, “Here, take it to your attorney and draft it up.” I did that. I wish I still had that placemat, because I gave it to my attorney to draft the document and he kept it. It
nce you got to know him, he was the greatest guy you’d ever want to know. I met Earl during the PBA tournament in Las Vegas, probably ’68 or ’69. I was competing in the tournament and so was he. We were crossing next to each other and said hello during the practices, and after we were done we would chat a little. In those days you were bowling four six-game blocks, so we saw each other at each squad. My first impression was that when he was bowling, he was pure business. He didn’t have a lot of conversation for you. He was very determined. Off the lanes he had a different personality. Very friendly, very outgoing. I was already living in California but I never knew I would be in business with him. That was 15, 16 years later. I got off the tour in 1972, so I didn’t spend much more time with him right after we met. He
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IN MY WORDS would have been a hell of a keepsake. I became his partner on July 1 of ’85. It took about two years to get the bowls making money, and then he and Susie [Mrs. Anthony] wanted to retire in the Northwest. They moved to Oregon in ’88—North Plains, outside of Portland. Both bowls were turning a profit and he felt comfortable leaving me to run the two operations. I used to send him financial statements so he knew what was going on with the business. Any time I needed him to come down, he would. I used to kid him, “If I ever want to see you, I’ll just stop your check and you’ll have to come down.” In the beginning, he would come down half-a-dozen times a year: the PBA national tour when we had it at Dublin; he bowled some of the World Team Challenge tournaments we hosted; for tax season; and at the end of the year to review our financials. He’d come down in August when we were getting ready to promote the winter leagues and sit in on some league meetings and meet people. He still had all his golfing buddies over at Crow Canyon, so he would try to tie in some golf when he came down. When he was taking the bowls over, and had the opportunity, he would bowl in the leagues. He and Susie bowled in a summer league in Danville. Then he bowled in a winter league down here [Dublin], called the Earl Anthony Classic. By that time, he was slowing down and getting ready for the Senior Tour. All the people knew him. He would go down and say hello. He had a good memory for names. He would walk through the concourse, go down and talk to people, and sit around and have a drink with them in the bar. He would do a lot of laughing and joke-telling on the golf course, even around the bowling center. I liked to sit with him in the lounge and when the customers would come in, he would talk baseball stories, talk about 40
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his career as a baseball player in an Orioles farm club, and then get into bowling. He would joke with them and they enjoyed listening to the stories he had to tell. Then every two or three months, Earl and I had a golf match with Lenny Nicholson and George Kubiak, who sold advertising on Telescores. We would take on George and Lenny. It was an ongoing match. I think we beat them 18 out of 20 times. We didn’t do a lot of traveling together. I was mostly here taking care of the business, but a few times I went with him to the Hall of Fame Salute to Champions that they used to have in St. Louis. Once was after Earl was inducted into the Hall and I was part of a group that went out there and bought a table at the dinner to show our respect for him. And we didn’t talk about his retirement. I would say he enjoyed life on the tour, especially when he was doing as well as he did. Susie would often travel with him, in their motor home. But toward the end he wanted to slow down—fewer tournaments. It could have been because of age, it could have been pain. I can only put it down to those issues. I think his knee was one of the main reasons he quit. He didn’t want to have surgery; he never did tell me why. He could walk and play golf and not have a problem golfing, but when he bowled, being a lefty, he bent down and slid on his right leg. The last couple of years of his career, every time he would bowl the right knee would swell up. He took up golf in the early ’70s, I would guess. The bowling story, the way I hear it, is that back in the ’60s he was a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles farm club. They were up in Seattle or Spokane, I can’t remember which. He threw his arm out. One
IN MY WORDS of the doctors told him he could try some bowling to strengthen it. At that time he was averaging 150, 160, bowling left-handed because he was pitching left-handed. He liked bowling so he started taking it up more seriously. Gary Mage was his best buddy and a left-handed bowler; he is the current regional director for the PBA on the West Coast. I think he helped Earl progress with his game. I don’t think he had a big head. I remember many times at exhibitions when I was with him or at the personal appearances he made, there was supposed to be an hour for signing autographs. Earl would sit there until everybody got one if it took two hours. Make sure the public was happy. I never got the opinion from him that he was the world’s greatest bowler. He idolized Dick Weber, but he never told me who his favorite bowler was. Who did he pal around with? I’d say just about everybody. When he finished competition, before he went home, he would go sit in the lounge and have drinks with everyone. We did talk about the lefty-righty confrontation. He felt that he had to be careful when he was practicing, that people were watching where he would bowl, that if they saw him striking very easily they might change the lane condition. He used to practice four different angles: the gutter, the 5-board, the 10-board and maybe even the 15-board, just to see where the shots would be so he felt comfortable that if something changed with the lane pattern, he could still strike. When he first came out on the tour, he was like a country boy coming
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into the big-time. He was very shy, polite, not outgoing. As he started to win titles and became famous, his personality changed. He became more outgoing. He’d be happy to sit down and give an interview or take pictures. Not while he was bowling, though. I truly believe he was the best bowler I’ve ever seen. I’m doing all I can to keep his name in the public’s eye. That’s why we have the Earl Anthony Memorial Scholarship Fund through the USBC. We continue to have PBA events, and one of his bowling balls is in a case of Earl Anthony memorabilia at Dublin Bowl. Earl was a real gentleman, very honest. Always on the square. Your true friend. I would trust him with anything. I remember a couple of times when he told me I was like a brother to him, because he didn’t have a brother. We had that kind of relationship. ❖
A member of seven halls of fame including PBA’s, Ted Hoffman Jr. directed the PBA Western Regionals for 30 years, has served on national and state BPAA boards, and co-owns Dublin Bowl in Dublin, CA.
DATEBOOK
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
20 – 22 Wyoming Bowling Jamboree Tradeshow Holiday Inn, Cheyenne, WY Charlene Abbott kcabbott@bresnan.net
13-15 Mid-South Bowling Conference Seminars & Trade Show Sam’s Town, Tunica, MS Dwayne Hippensteel hippensteelcd@aol.com
23-27 Brunswick Pinsetter School Pinsetter factory Szekesfehervar, Hungary Siggi Hill Siggi.Hill@brunbowl.com
24 BCA of Florida Annual Meeting Villas of Grand Cypress, Orlando Brett Woodside, brett@bpaa.com
29 – October 9 School of Entertainment Center Management BPAA Intl. Bowling Campus Arlington, TX 800-343-1329
7-9 East Coast Bowling Centers Convention Revel Resort, Atlantic City www.eastcoastbowl.com IBI
1 Washington State BPA Season Kick-Off Meeting Greg Olsen 800-736-BOWL
6-9 School for Bowling Center Management Bowling University at East Coast Bowling Centers Convention Atlantic City 800-343-1329
14-18 Brunswick Training Classes GS Series Pinsetter 800-937-2695 or schools@brunbowl.com
21-25 Brunswick Training classes Vector Scorer Maintenance 800-937-2695 or schools@brunbowl.com
NOVEMBER 3–5 West Coast Bowling Convention Silver Legacy Resort & Casino, Reno Sandi Thompson 925-485-1855 IBI
Westland Bowl Westland, MI (60 Lanes) We congratulate Mark and Gwendolyn Brooks on their purchase of this fine center and thank the Capaldi Family for trusting us to handle the sale. We wish the Brooks and the Capaldis all the best in the future.
4-8 Brunswick Pinsetter School Pinsetter factory Szekesfehervar, Hungary Siggi Hill Siggi.Hill@brunbowl.com
Bowling’s Only Full-Service Brokers, Appraisers & Financial Advisors 28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076
(800) 222 • 9131 IBI
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Official magazine of the convention
SHOWCASE PHONE APP ACTION
BowlingCenterApps.com (FastAPPZ) in Cincinnati, builds extremely affordable custom mobile apps for bowling centers and organizations. Built in just 10-15 business days, your app will work on iPhone, iPad, and Android, and includes unlimited instant messages. Provide bowlers quick access to schedules, rates, specials, etc., and gain massive exposure on iTunes App Store and Google Play. Sell prime sponsorship space on the app and instantly increase revenue. Call 855-994-2777 or visit BowlingCenterApps.com.
LIGHT UP THE LANES
ZOT Pinsetter Parts is pleased to introduce the Rake/Sweep Flash LED Light Fixture which adds an array of random colors and formats at the end of the lanes that gets the most focus, the pin deck area. Alternatively, the ZOT Rake Sweep Flash is a great and affordable introduction into LED Light Shows for small and large centers that are just getting started in the recreation and/or entertainment bowling segment of the market. Contact 303-824-1031 or paul.lane@zotpinsetter.com to learn more.
LOAN EXPERT
Ken Paton from Paton Financial Group is your bowling loan center industry expert! Whether you need financing to upgrade or remodel your existing center, exercise an option to purchase the real estate, a loan to acquire a bowling center, or simply want to refinance to lower your payments, Ken can provide you with a lender who has provided loans to proprietors with similar needs. To learn more, go to www.kenpaton.com.
SWEAT BOX
The Original Sweat Box…is the new revolutionary way to extract the oil from your bowling ball. Compact, durable, effective, affordable, weighs less than a 13lb bowling ball. The only STEAM DRIVEN process on the market! Great Revenue Driver for Pro Shops. No magic solutions needed… essentially just plug & play. If you are an avid bowler, you will love this for home use or tournament travel. ”Get Back-End RE-ACTION”! Visit www.tosweatbox.com 46
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PREMIUM RENTAL SHOES
If only everything returned its investment as fast and as many times over as Brunswick Premium Rental Shoes which features genuine full-grain leather uppers, a leather sole with channel stitching, foampadded sock liners and rubber heels. These shoes are built to last game after game. They incorporate all the great features of our traditional Premium Rental Shoes without the hassle or cost of replacing laces and come with a one year warranty. http://www.brunswickbowling.com/products/shoes/
LANE MACHINE MAGIC
EZ Touch is the smartest choice for centers 16 lanes or less and is specifically deigned around your needs. It’s the easiest machine on the market to learn and operate. It’s far less expensive to purchase and maintain than any other machine, and it does everything you need to condition and protect your lanes from wear. Watch the video at www.qubicaamf.com/EZTouch.aspx.
HIGH QUALITY, LOW COST
Bowlers Superior Inventory, Inc. supplies high-quality bowling shoes, bowling ball bags and bowling lockers. In their bowling shoe departments, you’ll find classic and sport styles, and in their selection of bowling ball bags, you’ll find looks both traditional and wild. BSI was created to fill the void in manufacturing quality goods at affordable prices. Check out their inventory at www.bowlerssuperior.com or contact them for more information on any of their products at bowlerssuperior@aol.com.
BOWLING BROKERS
For the past 30 years, Sandy Hansell & Associates, Inc. has been buying, selling and valuing bowling centers. No other company provides these services exclusively. Their track record proves they are the very best at what they do. Since 1977, they have sold over 500 centers and valued more than 1,200 centers throughout the United States and Canada. Their team has earned a reputation for competence, honesty, and professionalism, so call them today at (248) 559-1818.
C L A S S I F I E D S
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details (248) 375-2751. NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-2556436 or jayhawkbowling.com.
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EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
C L A S S I F I E D S
AMF SCORING SYSTEM: Complete with 32” LCD monitors & front office package for 12lane house. 2 years old. Asking $25,000; original $87,000 value. Boxed & ready to ship. For more info, call Ken (618) 771-2775 or email kwiggs7@gmail.com. See redline-products.com for replacement foul lights. Home of bowlingtrader.com.
AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT COMPLETE PACKAGES WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY ALL AMF BUMPER PARTS, XS Q-BUMP, DURABOWL AND GEN II IN STOCK
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Danny & Daryl Tucker Tucker Bowling Equipment Co. 609 N.E. 3rd St. Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-4018 Fax (806) 995-4767
Bowling Parts, Inc. P.O. Box 801 Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-3635 Email - daryl@tuckerbowling.com
FOR SALE: (2) ZOT (completely) Reconditioned Gloss Bosses - $2750/ea. 32+ lanes AMF SPL + install. Call for quote. 24 lanes Super Helix Steltronic w/ flat screens. 24 lanes Excel Scoring w/ flat screens. Parts out the wazoo! Complete installs/packages available. Contact Knotrite LLC @ (970) 946-9933; knotritellc@gmail.com.
EQUIPMENT WANTED LANE MACHINES WANTED. We will purchase your KEGEL-built machine, any age or condition. Call (608) 764-1464.
www.tuckerbowling.com WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN
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ITEMS WANTED
C L A S S I F I E D S
“WANTED TO BUY” Older Bowling Shirts. Paying $5 - $25 for button front shirts with embroidery or ink lettering on the back. HicardVintage@gmail.com (434) 465-0099.
CENTER FOR SALE ALABAMA: 30-lane, well-established, profitable center with kitchen, lounge & pro shop. Real estate included. Located in thriving Huntsville. Russ Russell Commercial Real Estate (256) 536-7777.
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One of the top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.1m gets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362. GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, real estate included. Great location in one of fastest growing counties in metro Atlanta. 5 years new with all the amenities. Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751. CENTRAL MINNESOTA: 6-lane center. Owner retiring. $99,900. Hartmann@midwestinfo.net. (320) 760-3377.
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C L A S S I F I E D S
CENTERS FOR SALE
"Bowling Center Construction Specialists" New Center Construction Family Entertainment Centers Residential Bowling Lanes Modernization Mini Bowling Lanes Automatic Scoring CONTACT
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(866) 961-7633 ( Office: 734) 469-4293
Toll Free:
Email: build@capitalbowlingservice.com
www.CapitalBowlingService.com
CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center and restaurant in central Idaho mountains. Small town. Only center within 60-mile radius. Brunswick A-2 machines; Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring. (208) 879-4448.
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-lane Brunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thru liquor store in small college town. Also, 3 apartment buildings with 40 units, good rental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701) 430-1490.
NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling. Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluth w/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Two large State employment facilities nearby. High six figure gross. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com.
16-lane center in Southern Colorado mountains. Great condition. 18,000 s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge. Paved parking 100 + vehicles. Established leagues & tournaments. $950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155.
NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s, Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game & pool rooms. See pics and info @ www.visitcolby.com or contact Charles (785) 443-3477.
CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!! 8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, karaoke machine & DJ system. Asking $125,000.00 with RE. (217) 3515152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net.
SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained 8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant. Includes business and real estate. Nice, smaller community. Owner retiring. $212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828.
MINIATURE GOLF COURSES Indoor/Outdoor. Portable/Pre-Fab. Black Light/Traditional/Pro Putter. 202 Bridge Street Jessup, PA 18434 570-489-8623 www.minigolfinc.com
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September 2013
CENTER FOR SALE
MICHIGAN-SOUTH CENTRAL: Large center with late model equipment. Strong league base plus high-volume franchise. RE included. Sandy Hansell (800) 222-9131.
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN
For FLORIDA CENTERS Call DAVID DRISCOLL & ASSOCIATES 1-800-444-BOWL 3800 Lake Center Loop, Suite B1, Mount Dora, FL 32757-2208 AN AFFILIATE OF SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
C L A S S I F I E D S
PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70 S.S. & M.P. MACHINES Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. Board Exchange & Repair! A reasonable alternative for Chassis and P.C. Board Exchanges MIKE BARRETT Call for Price List
Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576
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CENTER FOR SALE
C L A S S I F I E D S
SW NEW MEXICO: 16-lane Brunswick center on 2 acres, family owned for 20 years. Only game in town! Synthetic lanes, Vector Plus scoring, sound system, restaurant & bar, pro shop & pool room. Hosts well-established tournaments, house leagues, school groups & birthday parties. $1.9 million. (575) 5745267 or tycole@comcast.net.
SERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL
AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • Frameworx NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS
Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849
FLORIDA: 36 lanes, fully remodeled. Tremendous activity. Liquor license, Food, great following with Leagues & Parties. Excellent condition. Great location on main artery. A+ feature is land with exceptional value. Growing business with Cash Flow. Seller retiring, willing to give financing. For complete package, kindly contact: Nick Kayafas, Florida Growth Realty, Inc. (800) 749-9399 or nick@floridagrowthrealty.com.
NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Island region. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmic bowling, auto scoring. Established leagues + many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill @ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.
291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940 on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: mike@bowlingscorer.com
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WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN
MANAGER WANTED Don't miss your chance to grow with an Industry Leader! Looking for Experienced, Service-Oriented General Managers for our U.S. bowling retail center locations. Please check us out at www.brunswickcareers.apply2jobs.c om for more details on our current openings. Act Now! Apply Today!
MECHANIC WANTED FULL TIME MECHANIC FOR AMF 82-70 PINSPOTTERS. TARHEELLANES@ATT.NET; (828) 6925039 OR (828) 216-1221.
LEASE/OPTION TO BUY NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (Susanville): 10-lane center with restaurant—14,000 s/f bldg. on 2.35 acre parcel. Flexible terms. Contact Lori Johnson, Lester Company, (831) 722-2741 or lori@lestercompany. AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC board repair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fast turnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service 5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054 Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695) Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon) E-mail: wb8yjf@earthlink.net Visit us on the WEB! http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/
SELL YOUR
CENTER OR EQPT.
FAST!
(818) 789-2695
HELP WANTED SALES REP: Commission. Bowling This Month is seeking an experienced outside sales representative for its print/digital magazine. Prospect, making sales calls. Email Alayne @ alayne@bowlingthismonth.com.
POSITION WANTED Accomplished District Manager with unique Operational, Team Building/Leadership and Marketing skills seeking comparable position. Very organized, self-motivated, multi-task master with a “can do” attitude. Open to relocation. Johnmillen@optonline.net or (201) 657-4684.
SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com. CUSTOM INSTALL SPECIALISTS. No job too odd. Parts out the wazoo! Complete installs/packages available. Contact Knotrite LLC @ (970) 946-9933; knotritellc@gmail.com; www.tenpinartisans.com.
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN
AMF 5850 & 6525 CHASSIS. Exchange your tired or damaged chassis for an upgraded, rewired, cleaned, painted and ready-to-run chassis. Fast turnaround. WE DO HOUSE CALLS! Lifetime guarantee. References available. CHASSIS DOCTORS (330) 314-8951.
SELL YOUR CENTER
(818) 789-2695
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C L A S S I F I E D S
REMEMBER WHEN
1942
H
ow do you promote a product with a limited supply and not make it “exclusive?” The beginning of WWII affected supply and demand. Yet CocaCola wanted everyone to continue to think and order Coca-Cola first, in spite of the wartime limits. In this 1942 wartime ad, the “simple pleasures” of bowling, family night rituals and hard work went hand-in-hand with 54
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Coca-Cola. The U.S. was hunkering down—no splashy, frivolous promotions—just the pause that refreshes. A 5-cent Coca-Cola, bowling and a sense of comfort were the extra somethings people needed. The number of certified centers tallied around 5,096; ABC membership was 694,000, and WIBC posted 200,610 members. Bowling was a bright spot in an otherwise serious world. ❖