Page 18 - BCM June 2024

BUSINESS

more items… that we have in our taining the location as a community gathering spot but weren’t sure how to
archives and are unable to display, accomplish that goal. One day, Spring eld Township’s director of admin-
and share them with the bowling istrative services happened to be having a pint at the original HighGrain
community.” and struck up a conversation with ownership. e topic of the company’s
growth and the pains that came with it came up. Lightbulbs appeared above
heads. More serious conversations took place and the spirit, if not the
bowling aspect, of Brentwood Bowl was saved. Meanwhile, Ludlam Island
Brewery in New Jersey’s Cape May County also is expanding. Ludlam’s new
taproom opened on May 17 after an extensive renovation of the old Mouse
Trap Lanes. e 12-lane center closed in June 2021.
Strobl Family Sells the Iconic Thunderbowl to Bowlero
Little more than a year after the passing of proprietor Tom Stobl at the
age of 81, one of America’s legendary bowling venues — underbowl
Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan — is being sold to multi-unit operator
Brentwood Bowl’s colorful “Creatress” Bowlero Corp. underbowl opened in 1962 and was purchased by Strobl
mural is being retained by the property’s and his brother Jim in 1997. In 1999, the center hosted the PBA’s rst World
new owners, who have transformed the Series of Bowling, a budget-stretching venture that enabled the PBA to tape
venue into a brewery. Some of the cen- multiple telecasts without the costs involved in moving from city to city. A
ter’s interior xtures and furniture also post on underbowl’s Facebook page read, “ e family would like to thank
survived the trash heap. the bowling community, the City of Allen Park, the sta and the manage-
ment of underbowl Lanes for all (the) wonderful memories and we wish
2 Erstwhile Bowling Centers for many more to come with Bowlero.” According to Bowlero, the purchase
Have New Life as Breweries agreement includes both the vast bowling center and its connected Arena
No business lasts forever, but
when a bowling center closes, a
community often loses a cherished
meeting place. In Ohio and New Jer-
sey, two venerable bowling centers
may be gone, but at least they’re
being replaced by a di erent type
of meeting place: breweries. In the
Cincinnati area, HighGrain Brew-
ing Co. recently opened its doors
inside the former Brentwood Bowl
in Spring eld Township. e new
facility boosts HighGrain’s brewing
capacity while serving as a beach-
head into a new neighborhood. Thunderbowl Lanes, the largest center in the United States with a unique arena bay,
Some of the features and xtures has been sold by the Strobl family to Bowlero Corp.
from the former bowling center
remain, including signs and origi-
nal seating. e owners also have
retained Brentwood Bowl’s color-
ful “Creatress” mural, long a visual
xture on Winton Road. How did
the conversion come about? Around
the time that HighGrain was ready
to expand, Spring eld Township
was purchasing the Brentwood Bowl
property from a developer. Commu-
nity o cials were focused on main-

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