Grab your shoes and dust off those bowling balls.
The new Fairway Lanes Bar and Grill is expected to open Saturday, Aug. 14, which just so happens to be National Bowling Day.
The new owners of the beloved bowling alley, Jeff and Julie Walker, made the announcement Saturday on their Facebook page. As part of the momentous occasion, the business will be hosting drawings for customers and attendees to win hats, T-shirts, free bowling games and other prizes.
The couple said Aug. 14 stands as a “solid but tentative” reopening date as they’re still waiting for a final OK from the health department. Besides that, though, the owners say they’re all ready to go.
Any information on a date change will be posted to the business Facebook page.
“We’re pretty much ready,” Jeff Walker said. “We’re very excited about this … We want them to come in and see the new experience of the bowling center.”
Registration is also currently underway for fall leagues.
The family planned on hosting a reopening earlier in August, but further remodeling and permit approval set them back.
“Getting permits and licensing is taking longer than expected. We are still doing some remodeling as well, but we are almost done,” the owners wrote in an update about a week or so ago. “The bar and grill are completely remodeled, as well as lots of other changes you guys will see soon. We are excited to meet everybody and to provide the county with a great bowling center.”
The Walkers purchased the 18-lane bowling alley in April from longtime owners Steve and Tim Turner. Financial concerns brought on by the coronavirus recession and family health issues led the family to sell the business. The business was closed for about five months last year following the first months of the pandemic, and the owners had a hard time recovering, according to previous reporting.
With the Walkers in the picture, they got to work renovating and fixing up the 63-year-old bowling alley. Work completed so far includes mechanical work on lanes, plumbing repairs, new flooring and countertops, a new bar top and fresh coats of paint.
They’re also rebranding their cafe into a bar and grill and anticipate offering cocktails and other alcoholic beverages by way of Walkers Bar, which is located within the bowling alley.
The grill area of the bowling alley will feature concession food items including fried foods, French dips and other sandwiches.
Jeff Walker said a lot of work went into rebuilding the bar and grill area and that they rebuilt it practically from the ground up.
The couple said they’re still drafting hours of operation, but hope to be open some nights until midnight. Fairway Lanes Bar and Grill is located at 1501 S. Gold St. in Centralia.
