The outside of Suburban Lanes doesn’t look like much, an operation with fading white bricks and signs for vacant shops wedged in under the side of an old strip mall.
The inside isn’t much to look at either — like a fraying snapshot from 1954. One Yelp reviewer called the Decatur area alley “loud, dated, sketchy.” And gave it four stars. Its denizens, many who roll in the 200s, call it The Dungeon. They mean that in the best possible way.
“This is old-school bowling, a traditional bowing alley,” said Bill Rohde, a large fellow with a toe-hold in the pro circuit who mans the counter.
General manager Cheyenne Ergle nods in agreement. He grew up bowling there and now does so with grandkids. "It's a bowling alley," he says in a gravel growl. "This is the only one left around. They've all turned into 'fun centers.'"
And now it’s about to bite the dust, as the big broom of progress sweeps this ’50s leftover into the bin of What Once Was. Developers bought the mall and, despite angry protests from the community, are building a Walmart on one side of the tract.
Those at the bowling alley thought they had a deal to keep it open as the remaining half of the mall gets spruced up. But it will shut down at April’s end. An exec from developer Selig Enterprises told the press they tried to keep it open, but “financially it was overwhelming” for both them and the bowling alley owners.
What will become of the site is unknown. Selig representatives (I didn’t reach them or the alley’s owners Friday) have said they’re were looking at filling some of the space with a Half Price Books, a big independent store that does what its name indicates.
The bowling alley’s owners are still hoping for a miracle as a petition drive picks up some momentum.
The regular bowlers feel they’re losing a friend, perhaps even many friends, because they’ve got to move on somewhere else. I talked to folks in two leagues last week. Both will go to Stockbridge, although the move won’t work for some, especially those in Friday morning’s senior league.
“A lot of them can’t make it on the highway,” said Fay Ireland, league secretary.
“At one point, we had the oldest bowler in Georgia; he was 104,” said Ergle, chiming in. “They made him stop driving: The police stopped him going 28 on the highway.”
Nobody who bowled Friday neared triple digits in the age category. But like the younger folk who bowled the previous evening, few have much interest in family fun centers with laser tag, go karts or “boutique” restaurants. They just want to bowl.
Leagues are a steady source of income for bowling alleys and pay perhaps 40 percent of the industry’s freight. Thursday night’s league president, Blake Carlton, said they rent out the 32-lane facility for two-and-a-half hours, 35 weeks a year. It costs $40,000, Carlton said, “to own the house.” Suburban Lane’s manager said the place stays busy — a league or scheduled activity is going on there most days.
Still, the number of bowlers in certified leagues across America has steadily dwindled — from 2.5 million members in 2008 to 1.5 million last year. Likewise, bowling alleys. According to census data, they are down a quarter since 1998 to 4,061 in 2012. And the slide started before 1998, according to a Bloomberg business report headlined “America’s Vanishing Bowling Alleys.”
Part of the reason is people today are too busy to give the time commitment bowling leagues demand. The author of the best-selling “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” made the point that Americans have also been too busy to join a lot of other civic activities, a trend he contends has frayed the nation’s social fiber.
Still, those in the bowling/fun-center industry said fortunes look good overall, if maybe not for places like Suburban Lanes. One study said 70 million Americans bowled at least once in 2013.
“Like many industries, bowling is changing with the times,” according to a report written by Sandy Hansell & Associates, a Michigan firm that monitors the industry. “Historically, most bowling centers catered to a blue collar, league and tournament-oriented customer base. Now bowling is re-positioning and re-branding itself to appeal to a more diversified, younger and upscale clientele which seeks an enjoyable entertainment experience in a well-appointed facility, a broader array of product offerings and a high-quality food and beverage operation.”
Thursday night, Carla Whitehead wasn’t interested in a broader array of product offerings or high-quality food. Her team started the night in first place, but a shaky evening by her foursome threatened to change all that. She concentrated on her last shot, stutter-stepped and nailed a hooking strike to end her last game with a 223.
The alley’s impending demise was a surprise, she said. “Our hearts are broken. Some people have been coming here for 30 years.”
Almost to a person, bowlers said, “Camaraderie!” when asked why they came. “Competition,” quickly followed.
Melba Lawrence wasn’t surprised that the lanes will be silenced. Once she heard that a big developer was coming in, she figured the old-time alley stood no chance. “There’s not a lot in the community that doesn’t yield to money,” she said.
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