07/16/2025
🎉 You're Not Going to Want to Miss This! 🎉
We’re coming up on ONE YEAR since we took over and reopened the bowling alley — and we’ve got some exciting news, a GIVEAWAY, and a WEEKEND FULL OF APPRECIATION planned just for YOU!
💥 To enter the giveaway:
LIKE this post, SHARE it, and TAG a friend in the comments below.
You’ll be entered to win FOUR (4) FREE games of bowling – more details below! (Make sure when you share this post, you set the privacy to "public" so we are able to verify it was shared. If you need help with this, let us know).
I ask that you all read how our journey went, and then visit the bottom of this post to read about the exciting weekend! 😁
🎳 A Look Back at Our Journey:
In May 2024, ownership of the bowling alley changed hands. It all started when I went bowling with my younger brother one night. While there, I casually learned the alley was for sale. When we told our parents, they immediately said, “We’re not buying a bowling alley.”
Fast forward a few weeks… they came out to bowl with us, and let’s just say the ideas started flowing. On the drive home, my dad was already rattling off remodel plans to my mum. My brother and I weren't along for this ride, so we really thought that it wasn't going to happen. After just a few weeks, my mother called to say they had done it, they bought the bowling alley!
🔑 We got the keys on May 13, 2024.
🏗️ We immediately closed to begin a full remodel and reopened just 11 weeks later on August 2, 2024.
We did it all while my dad and I worked full-time jobs, my mum ran her home-based business, and my brother was out of school for summer break. It was a whirlwind!
🛠️ Improvements/Upgrades We’ve Done:
▫️Tore down walls, repainted everything 🎨
▫️Installed new carpet and ceiling tiles
▫️Repainted the ceiling over the lanes
▫️Upgraded to a new scoring system
▫️Purchased 10 new TVs (8 for scoring + 2 big ol’ 55” ones for cable TV)
▫️Added new lights to enhance our cosmic bowling
▫️Purchased all new house balls and bowling shoes
▫️Purchased all new bowling pins
▫️Added Pull Tabs!
▫️Hired one of our regulars to help get our parking lot in better shape! (Thank you, Matt Mj Grade and Haul LLC)!
▫️Reintroduced a pool table + arcade games through Bell Music Co.
▫️Added a Juke Box (AMI) also through Bell Music Co.
▫️All new Point of Sale (POS) System
▫️Secured our liquor license to keep the bar open and added many new suppliers for a variety of choices.
▫️Contacted Lockport Brewery to put their beer on tap (currently have two choices, everybody's favorite, Gateway and a seasonal, Munich Dunkel).
▫️Just last week we finished installing bumpers on the final two lanes (we started with having only two lanes with bumpers)!
▫️Worked along side Sandy Valley Local Schools to become home of the Sandy Valley Bowling Team again!
We’ve poured our time, energy, and hearts into creating a space that brings people together; families, friends, kids, and the community as a whole.
We’ve kept pricing affordable because we believe that fun shouldn’t break the bank. Bowling is still just $5/person/game, and shoe rentals are only $2.25.
🙏All of this to say, Thank You, from Our Family to Yours!
Since reopening, we’ve been blown away by your support. We've made memories, formed new friendships, and seen so many smiles — from first-time bowlers to league regulars.
Some weeks were tough. Winter was BUSY. But we wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Your support has meant the world to us.
🎉 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY APPRECIATION EVENT 🎉
📅 Friday, August 1 – Sunday, August 3, 2025
🕓 Friday 4 PM – Sunday 8 PM
Here’s what you can enjoy during the event:
✅ $5 per person, per game (regular pricing)
✅ BUY 2 GAMES, GET 1 FREE (normally just on Sundays!)
✅ FREE SHOE RENTAL all weekend
✅ 40% OFF all fountain drinks & alcoholic beverages
🍎 Busch Light Apple available for a limited time — while supplies last!
🎁 About That GIVEAWAY…
As a thank-you, we’re giving away 4 FREE GAMES of bowling, to TWO Lucky Winners!
✅ LIKE this post
✅ SHARE this post
✅ TAG a friend in the comments
The lucky winners will be selected at random. You can use your free games during the anniversary weekend and enjoy all the event perks — or save them for another time! (Just note: outside of the event, shoe rental is $2.25 unless you bring your own.)
We truly hope to see you there to celebrate with us, the weekend of August 1st, 2025! Thank you again for supporting our family-run business and helping us bring life back to something special in East Sparta.
🎉 Here’s to Year Two! 🎉
~Your Family @ Thunder in the Alley ❤️🥳
