Parkway Bowl Reopened June 18 to a Greatful East San Diego County
After a COVID friendly soft opening in May of 2021 where lane skills were admittedly rusty, Parkway Bowl, one of San Diego's few remaining ten pin bowling alleys fully reopened this weekend at full capacity. In addition to the bowling alley, the adjacent indoor amusement park, The Boardwalk also reopened for the first time in over 15 months.
Bowling alleys have been hit especially hard during the pandemic, as most indoor service businesses were, but a general decline in the popularity of bowling coupled with the sky high cost of San Diego area real estate left the fate of the El Cajon establishment in question.
Luckily, Parkway Bowl was able to pick up the spare, and is now reopen daily.
Other Local Bowling Alleys Don't Survive
Kearny Mesa Bowl wasn't as lucky. The coronavirus forced the local establishment to close its doors in March of 2021 after decades in business.
General Manager Johnny Humble told local San Diego station KUSI that they were unable to keep the doors open due to state health regulations shuttering their business since March 2020. The color tier system meant they were open for a total of 18 days in the past year.
Untennable for most businesses, but an impossible situation for a business with such a large real estate footprint.
Mira Mesa Lanes would also permanently close at the same time.
Demise of the Bowling Alley
The demise of the bowling alley has been predicted for decades following an apex of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s.
Although demise may have been too strong a term. Consolidation might be more apt.
After a period of significant market contraction during the 1990s and early 2000s the market was able to find an equilibrium.
The traditional bowling alley, like parkway, Kearny Mesa Bowl, and Mira Mesa lanes has been in the model of the mega alleys with sprawling lanes that catered to leagues and families that were built at the peak of bowling's popularity.
Where bowling was the primary attraction. Food, drink, and television were an afterthought. Less important than the pro shop.
Smaller Bowling Alley Trend
Cult movies like the Big Lebowski, along with the "cocktail culture" of the mid 90s helped reverse those emphases. Suddenly the bar with extra bowling lanes attached, like Downtown's East Village Tavern and Bowl, became wildly popular.
Younger crowds and leagues organized by groups such as VAVI flocked to East Village Tavern making it difficult to find a lane on a weeknight if you weren't part of these organized events.
While some of the fun has been tongue and cheek and perhaps not what purists in the proshop might like, the trend has been generally positive for the industry as a whole.
This helped stabilize and slowly grow the nation's bowling alley market cap throughout the 2010s. Until COVID-19 arrested that trend in 2020 when every bowling alley in the country was forced to close for public safety.
Parkway's Future Outlook
El Cajon's Parkway Bowl looks like it is well positioned to come out of state COVID restrictions stronger than ever. They are certainly excited to be reopen fully to the public with everything that entails.
For the time being the outlook for bowling in general and Parkway Bowl specifically is bright.
General Manager Bill told KUSI news that he was ecstatic to welcome bowlers back to lanes. A recent job fare publicized to Parkway Bowl's mailing list was well received and garnered more applicants than expected.
Leagues are once again starting up at the east county lanes. If you find yourself in the East County with an hour to spare, you might think about picking it up at Parkway Bowl.
Parkway Bowl is open M-F from 12:30pm to 11pm. Saturday and Sunday from 11am to Midnight. For more information on leagues, events, or cosmic bowling, visit their website at ParkwayBowl.com.
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