Landlord Seeks Tenant For Closed-Down Bowlero Lanes in Lakewood

The owners of the now-closed Bowlero Lanes may have have a difficult time finding a tenant who wants to run a blue-collar business that has struggled to make money in recent years, the building's former tenant said in a recent interview.

The eight-lane alley, built in 1958, has been shuttered since Sept. 19. Former owner Greg Linn brought the business out of bankruptcy in 2002. He blamed the recession for its profit loss for the alley's most recent closure.

"We worked like heck for nine years," Linn said. "But when the recession turned bad in 2008, 2009 and 2010 we lost hundreds of thousands (of dollars). "The recession took us down."

Bowlero Lanes was Lakewood's only bowling center. The 30,000 square-foot entertainment venue spanned two generations of bowler and hosted several leagues. Former customer Robert Keister lamented the closure on the lanes' Facebook Page: "Bowlero will be missed. Had a lot of good times there." 

The business closure eliminated about 35 jobs, Linn said, adding their 10-year lease was due to expire in May of 2012.

"We had the option for renewal, but the landlord would not give us any kind of break based on the recession to help us stay open," he said. "We couldn’t continue losing money."

Jay Han, whose family owns a large portion of the property where the business resides at 3852 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, said they are looking for another tenant.

"We're trying to open it up as a bowling lane again," Han said.

Significant upgrades were made to bowlero including automatic scoring, concur seating and a remodeled restaurant. The bowling lanes remain intact but Linn said he took the pin setters and overhead machines to recoup some of the lost money.

Linn and his wife Madeline — who continue to operate Paradise Bowl & Entertainment Center in Tacoma — said it would cost between $1.5-$2 million to reopen it as a bowling center.

"Years ago when it was built there were a couple thousand bowling centers and now there are less than 500," he said. "The income hasn't progressed like a normal business because it's a blue-collar clientele."