06/16/2026
I'm going to do a double-post today and then I'll stop blowing up everyone's timeline with my bowling blog post story circle for awhile. Promise!
As most of you know, we're in a temporarily tough spot. To be fair, we know we aren't alone. Multiple centers in our own network hit the same rough waters we do. It's not just us.
I did a ton of market research and found something absolutely shocking. We all know that bowling is in decline nationwide. I don't think we all recognize how widespread and severe it is. At its peak, there were over 12000 bowling centers in the US in the 1960's. Today, there maximum bowling census data I found was 3800, with more common estimates placing the count between 2400 - 3100.
Google "how many bowling alleys are there in the united states" and read its AI real quick. I confirmed it with genuine deep research. It's less than 4000 any way you look at it. There's been no sharp, significant cliff. People love bowling, participation isn't down - they just don't engage in a ton of repeat business. (Hillsboro absolutely bucks the national trend in this way, by the way!)
League participation, according to USBC data, is down some 89% from since the 70's. Operating bowling centers on the whole? 79% decline since the height in the 60's. There's been a mostly-steady 3% decline in bowling centers nationwide, year over year, since the height. It's never really sped up or dropped sharply (so cell phones and video games did NOT create this problem), it's never really stopped. Given what I see, if we bowling centers don't collectively make some interesting decisions, we're going to be rare as a drive in within the next 30 years. Crazy, right? To think... your local bowling centers - all of them - could be a distant memory in a few short years. Turns out the midwest was mostly insulated from the decline for some reason, so we don't feel the loss here.
In short, we've gotta adapt. We can't afford to be sluggish and working on years-long timelines like we once did. If I wish for local bowling to continue, I have to be more adaptable, from my point of view. I think we're helping in some ways. At a very, very minimum, we're one of the remaining few, and we plain refuse to accept defeat.
When we're closed, I'm staying up all night researching repairs and spare parts, alternatives and stand-ins. At the same time, I'm developing non-intrusive software and hardware harnesses for my equipment that I think could benefit myself and other bowling centers like mine in knocking out a bunch of operating costs.
That said, I sadly have to take a step back from daily attention to the business and return to my dayjob. I've plain run out of options that don't involve dialing back services or shutting things down. I owe Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy right now. So, back to silicon valley software land Nick goes. Luckily, I'm confident our systems are now stable enough to allow this step back, so it's not the end for us by a long shot. Long story short, we can get where we're going, so long as I'm not living at the lanes, doing a startup dayjob, and juggling both of those every day of the week.
So. Here's the plan. We're not retreating. We're not shutting down. We will continue to take in every ounce of effort offered, put back every spare dime and dollar into the facility, and of course continue to be open for normal business. Functionally, customers shouldn't see much difference, with the notable exception of 'less Nick and Bobbi and their kids around for every service.' We'll just be less of a visible fixture, yknow?
Our repair and restoration plans continue unabated. My software and electronics upgrades will continue development in the background. We'll hire a few new faces and engage an accountant, who will be temporarily paid from my own paycheck, until we're cash-flow positive and a more sustainable position. In the meantime, I'll work my dayjob and run the bowling alley from behind the curtain more often. Bobbi will also take a backseat more often. It's important for me to re-focus some time toward friends and family members as well, because I've been a ghost since we started all this.
Once we're in a better position, I can attempt to re-focus on Lunar Lanes. It's become my new home. I'm not leaving, I'm just engaged elsewhere more often than I'd like.
Stay tuned, folks. Hang in there, your bowling alley isn't going anywhere until it's painfully clear the community doesn't want it (or doesn't want us specifically to run it) anymore. Thanks for reading, and as always, thank you for your continued patience and support!
