07/19/2022
Just wanted to give all an update on the Bowl. Over the past couple years+ I (Nick) personally met with dozens of people who were interested in re-opening it but not one of them panned out. A lot of them came in thinking it is a business that requires zero work to run which it is not.
That being said, the current status is that the building is in escrow but the buyer is NOT going to re-open it as a bowling center.
As a reminder we didn’t chose to close the bowl, the decision was forced upon us. As some remember (a lot don’t) Mid-March 2020 our great State and local Governments forced us to close our doors for 2 weeks to “flatten the curve”. During that time a close friend with insight in D.C. was telling me the 2 weeks is going to be much longer. I kept my crew working even though the doors were closed with no money coming in.
Mid-April 2020 we were still not allowed to open and my lease renewal was coming up at the end of the Month so I had a choice to make. I had already paid the $20,000 rent for the month of April and paid my crew the whole time. Don’t forget I was only open for half of the previous month and the first half was very slow due to people being in fear to be around other people. So, by Mid-April I was already in the hole for $50,000 or more.
I contacted my friend to get more insight as to how long his company was being told the shut downs would last and he told me it is going to be a year or more based on what his people are being told. At that point my choice was made. On April 30th I did not renew the lease and gave my crew their final check plus a month extra to help them move on and that was it.
Turned out to be a very wise decision because we would not have been allowed to open for another 12 months or more and even at that point, we wouldn’t be able to have a full house for the coming months. If I would have renewed the lease I would be broke and the bowl still wouldn’t be open.
During those years of forced shut down I kept my equipment in the bowl just in case one of the many actually had the guts to re-open when allowed but they just didn’t and I wasn’t so I sold most my stuff with major losses.
The loss of the bowl really sucks for the community and I wish it was different but it’s not and there is nothing I can do about it. Just like my longtime crew I have moved on. If anything change’s I will let you know.
Nick
P.S.
If you all loved Manny’s pizza and burgers, you can still get it at his restaurant in San Miguel.
