BOWLING’S MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES Brunswick Bowling’s Turnkey Program and Stars and Strikes
T
he new frontier of bowling has arrived and, along with it, a new model for integrating coin-op amusement into one of the oldest
sports. Through a new program launched by industry giant Brunswick Bowling called Brunswick Build to Bowl, the company will entirely design, outfit and supply an amusement center on an existing property, using its network of suppliers to create
a turnkey package deal. This deal includes literally everything, from the architectural designs and construction to millworks and kitchen fixtures, all at direct cost with no mark ups, excluding
bowling and billiard supplies. After the overhead cost, there are no franchise fees or revenue sharing; it is solely the owner’s and/or investors’ business. The brain child of Hank Harris, VP of design and construction, this conceptual consultant program has become one of the most fascinating divisions of Brunswick Bowling. Eight years in the making, the scale of
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The back wall of the Thunderbird 36 is a painted panorama of famous locales in Atlanta and north Georgia. Seen here are Centennial Park, home of the 1996 Summer Olympics; Lake Lanier, a huge lake fed mainly by the Chattahoochee River known regionally for its scenic beauty; and Turner Field, home of the Braves.
The sign for the bowling area shows the quality of the hand-painted signage throughout Stars and Strikes. The differently styled signs not only designate an attraction but help to create distinct atmospheres.
this operation is as large as it is extremely detailed. A look inside one facility in particular, which features a game room that rivals its stand-alone counterparts, is the best way to see the big picture and its potential.
Seeing Stars
Chris Albano and managing partner Jack Canause had a vision similar to many entrepreneurs: galvanizing the innate potential from a gutted piece of real estate and channeling it into a fun, smart business that offers something different for everyone. In their case, the property was a former Wal-Mart, one of the skeletons left behind as the corporation pulls out of fairly large structures to build behemoth-sized super centers. The partners wanted a bowling facility but not just any
Twenty four of the thirty-six bowling lanes at Stars and Strikes stretch out in the back of the 52,000 square foot, state-of-the-art amusement facility custom designed by Brunswick Build to Bowl. If there is a heaven for the Dude from “The Big Lebowski,” surely it must look like Stars and Strikes.
garden-variety set of lanes. They aimed to showcase bowling within the largest possible network of attractions that would both emphasize and offset the sport and do so through a sleek overall design that would cater to style and not pander to kitsch. Ultimately, their target audience would be families looking to get out of the house and have fun together. The idea was grand in scope, but Brunswick Bowling brought to life this meticulous concept and did so for less than Albano and Canause would have spent planning it on their own from the ground up. Located in Cumming, Ga., about 10 miles north of Alpharetta (a suburb 25 miles north of Atlanta), Stars and Strikes contains 36 lanes of action known as The Thunderbird 36, a video game room
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called The Twilight Zone, a 5,000 square foot laser tag arena known as Next Dimension and Coach’s Corner, a 4,000square-foot sports bar. Each aspect of the facility, run by 12 management staffers and between 80 and 100 hourly employees, works in combination with the others like a family amusement center’s attractions but without slighting the primary status of balls and pins. “Your business has to have an identity at its core,” says Chris, who is originally from New York and has lived in Georgia for almost 10 years. “Our core, the nucleus of it, is the 36 bowling lanes. We’re first and foremost a bowling center at the end of the day.” Backing up that idea are the leagues — Mixed, Women’s and Men’s — that are currently being planned. Birthday par-
The Twilight Zone, home to more than 85 amusement games, has become a main attraction on its own accord while entertaining others waiting for access to a lane.
Who wouldn’t enjoy a black light laser maze?
Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here: Inside the laser tag arena, the walls are airbrushed to almost resemble a psychedelic alien landscape.
ties are also a huge priority and source of revenues, and the facility prides itself on having “a birthday party fleet ready to go,” according to Charlene Herez, director of sales and marketing. Other bowling thrills and frills are here as well: cosmic bowling and a live DJ greet bowlers on Friday and Saturday nights. The laser tag arena, mini-arcade, café and bar, which closes after 10PM to minors, are also designed to underscore the bowling lanes’ centrality. “Everything feeds into one another,” describes Chris. “It’s very synergistic.” If a group of friends, for example, shows up to bowl but every lane is occupied, they can make a reservation and entertain themselves with the array of choices. When their lane opens up, a remote electronic device, such as those distributed in large-scale family restaurants,
Most machines in the arcade, operated by Tricorps, require a game card.
notifies the group that a lane has become available. Speaking of restaurants, the food at the Starlight Drive-In is not standard mediocre fare but fifties-style cuisine that’s sensible for an establishment courting families with young kids and players on the go. “People come in the first time because they hear it’s a bowling center,” explains Chris, “but then they see the different kinds of food and realize that it’s actually great food. The next time when they’re waiting for lanes, which happens a lot on the weekends especially during the summer, they can they get a bite to eat, like
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chicken fingers, as they watch the ballgame.” Stars and Strikes only just opened its doors in mid-July, and Chris believes that over time the location’s different divisions, each impressively outfitted, will generate their own buzz and attraction status. The Coach’s Corner, for example, has 22 televisions with DIRECTV and distinctive burgers whose recipes are inspired by famous coaches, plus nightly events: Tuesday’s “Trivia and T-Bone dinner,” Wednesday specials on wings and karoke and Thursday’s Texas Hold ’Em poker tournaments. It also has several billiard tables and an extended menu
Stars & Strikes
The deep-brown wood and sophisticated look of the Coach’s Corner, a full sports bar, creates a mature, relaxed mood for players wanting to kick back with a few pitchers and watch the Braves.
Everywhere one looks, Coach’s Corner honors legendary coaches with taste — and tasty menu selections developed with them in mind.
selection, creating a full-fledged restaurant with an autonomy of its own. Eventually, he envisions people just dropping by for a steak or several teenagers getting the urge to play laser tag in the black-light maze and showing up to do so. In order to develop each interrelated area’s distinctive appeal, there is no flat admission rate to the facility, only a “pay as you go” system, and ubiquitous hand-painted signage over the 52,000 square feet of fun.
Entering the Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone, the 5,000-squarefoot video and coin-op game component, truly benefits from this selective independence and has already proven to be “a huge piece of the pie,” constituting “a major part of the revenue,” according to Chris. “It features a standard videogame complement,” says Steve Paris of Tricorps, the official operator, “with a full-bevel, 85-piece count and about four or five pieces in the bar.” Approximately 70% of the games are redemption-based. Prominent games featured include Mad Wave Motion Theatre, The Fast and the Furious, Dance Dance Revolution, Nothin’ but Net, Cyclone, Tower of Power and Spin-N-Win, as well as air hockey tables and more, forming a substantial arcade. A second area is dedicated to a bank of linked Daytona games. Brad VanBuskirk, Chris’ nephew, moved from Pittsburgh to supervise The Twilight Zone. Brad says that most of the machines run off game cards available
Arctic Thunder and Lethal Enforcer get players’ hearts pumping before they play laser tag.
for purchase, a system that they are looking to extend into the laser tag division. A dozen classic games are coin operated. “A lot of people come and buy a game card just to play Mad Wave,” says Brad when asked about popular games. “When we opened, people came in and didn’t realize everything that we have. Now a lot of people come just for the game room.” “Spin-N-Win has better numbers than the Mad Wave,” adds Rob Geiger, the Georgia area manager for Tricorps. “Nothing but Net does super well with the bar crowd as well.” Rob gives a lot of credit to David Capilouto of Greater Southern Distributing, who supplied the games and many supporting services, describing him as a
“fantastic vendor.”
Meeting One’s Maker
Standing on his newest construction site in Burlington, Iowa, Hank Harris can see the plan of Brunswick Build to Bowl’s newest amusement park taking shape, featuring a water park, a 21,000square-foot indoor go-kart track, a sports bar and more, forming 97,000 total square feet of fun. “We provide a service that no one else has at this magnitude,” says Hank, whose excitement and pride in the program shines through his voice. “We’ve designed and built a lot and have learned so much in the process. Now we can take
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ities for the corporation. He started developing Build to Bowl in 1997, and a year later he built the first independent facility in Overland Park, Kan., for Danny Jackson, the Kansas City Royals pitcher who had just retired. Since then, he has guided seven other amusement facilities from the drawing board to ribbon cutting. Regarding Stars and Strikes, Hanks says that while it is primarily a bowling center, “the last thing I want you to see when entering is bowling.” Instead, what impresses upon those who enter is the design of different attractions working symbiotically to create a fun atmosphere and memorable place — the benchmark of architectural vision — with coin-op The full redemption counter is the Twilight Zone’s number one hot spot. The entrance to the bowling lanes of the Cumming, Ga. Stars and Strikes may be seen in the background. amusement functioning as one of the most successful supporteverything that was a success and do it Hank has been involved in design and ive elements and as its own draw. What again for other independents while cusconstruction with Brunswick Bowling for makes the design truly work, and what will tomizing owner priorities.” 39 years and has built well over 100 facilsustain its growth, are the many consider◆ ate, thoughtful people who pulled together their energies to forge a business that is
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truly the sum of its invaluable parts. “There’s a new market being carved out,” concludes Chris, “and it’s a wonderful combination of things. Those who are doing what we’re doing will be pleased and successful.” Swing by Stars and Strikes at 133 Merchant Square when in Cumming, GA 30040 from Sunday through Thursday, 9AM till midnight, and on Friday and Saturday, 9AM till 2AM. Call 678/9655707 or email
[email protected]. Also take a peek at their cool website, www.starsandstrikes.org. For more information about Brunswick Bowling’s Build to Bowl program or to explore potential property development, see www.brunswick bowling. com/newcenter_home and www.brunswickbowling.com/ capitalequipment or contact Hank Harris directly at 847/687-2010. Finally, to contact Tricorps, call 877/TRICORPS, and to reach David Capilouto, call Greater Southern Distributing at 770/803-3040.
