Like bowling? Here’s a new option along with one for next year
The 1958 Holiday Bowl in Augusta is back open, and it features a lot of items that were once in bowling centers from the 1950s.
“Believe it or not, this is really one of the coolest bowling alleys in the country,” said co-owner Lonny Pace.
He and Alyssa Jameson purchased the center at 310 State St. in late 2020. It had been closed since 2017.
“It was a bit of a passion project,” said Pace, a veterinarian. “I’ve been a bowler all my life.”
He said a number of bowling alleys happened to come up for sale around the same time.
“This one really felt right.”
Pace said he loves the brick streets and old buildings in downtown Augusta.
“It’s Americana,” he said. “It’s a cool place.”
Pace said he and Jameson spent the better part of two years restoring the building and finding items, particularly vintage Brunswick lines of products, that came from bowling alleys from the 1950s.
“We’ve gone all over the United States finding those originals,” Pace said.
“We restored everything. We kept the original lanes because they’re wood lanes.”
He said a lot of lanes are synthetic these days.
When Holiday Bowl opened, it had eight lanes but quickly jumped to 12.
Pace said he and Jameson recreated a mid-century look for the center’s lounge and restaurant.
Along with pizza, Pace said there will burgers, old-school fries and items such as fried mac-and-cheese bites.
Pace said there also will be a nice selection of whiskey and rum in the lounge.
Initially, the Holiday Bowl will be open seven days a week. Pace said that may vary as they see when demand is highest.
He said Andover is close, and “hopefully we’ll bring people out of Wichita.”
Back in Wichita, infrastructure is going in at the new entertainment area that Estancia developer Marv Schellenberg is planning just south of K-96 and east of Ridge Road.
As Have You Heard? reported earlier this year, Ray Baty and his son, Matt, are opening a 32-lane bowling center called the Ridge that will have a large arcade and sports bar and grill.
Ray Baty spent 42 years with Joma Bowling Co.
Matt Baty said that right now things such as sewage and utility lines are going in, and the Ridge will break ground in the next 30 to 60 days. He expects construction to take about a year.
“Realistically, we’d like to get open before Christmas of next year,” he said. “It’s all going to be dependent on . . . the weather.”
Look for more news on other businesses that will locate at the entertainment district in the coming months.
