“Duckpin” at The Rec Room in Fort Lauderdale FL

Owner Sam Solomon rescued a pair of short duckpin lanes from a closed bar in Ohio, although he wasn’t quite sure how or where he was going to use them. The opportunity arose when he and his partners developed and opened The Rec Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The lanes are the short 26-ft variety, regulation width. and have no approaches. Pinsetters are string-based and they are currently using rubber-band duckpins because they found they score higher which made them more popular with patrons. Bowlers don’t need shoes since there are no approaches. They merely take a stance at the end of the lane and roll the ball.

Solomon praises the setup saying that the string machines allow games to be played in about 20-25 minutes each, even with two 4-person teams. The short game time keeps the interest of customers in a day when so much competes for their attention. On a regular night, the wait for access to the two lanes can take hours. The bowling is such a low-cost operation with this setup that the lounge offers it for free.

The Rec Room is forming teams for a league starting in July and has signed up 7 four-person teams so far. Solomon has hinted that they might have a new project in the works and duckpin looks like it will most definitely be involved. When pressed for more info, he politely declined and said it is merely in the talking stages at this point.

SouthFlorida SunSentinel – SummerTimeOut: Duckpin bowling at Rec Room in Fort Lauderdale

June 22, 2019 0

Mustang Alleys in Baltimore to Reopen

Great news for the Baltimore duckpin crowd: Mustang Lanes is being refurbished and will reopen under new ownership later this summer. The 12-year-old business, located on the second floor of the historic Tack Factory building at 1300 Bank St., has a new owner and is currently undergoing light refurbishment.

The bowling center near Little Italy in Baltimore City had closed this past April after the owners were unable to negotiate a new lease to stay open. In late May, a new ownership purchased the business and started the process of readying the 12-lane center for reopening.

Mustang Lanes offers duckpin bowling as well as a full-service bar, private event room and food service. Smith plans to upscale the food offerings by bringing in Chef Malcolm Mitchell, a former “Food Network Star” contestant and the Baltimore Sun’s “Best New Chef” of 2017. They will also add more local craft beers to their drink lineup.

Smith has said that the bowling alley’s facelift won’t include too many dramatic changes. He considers it “retro cool” and doesn’t want it to lose its appeal.

Baltimore Business Journal

June 18, 2019 0

Duckpins Coming to Federal Hill and Ocean City Maryland

The Ropewalk Tavern on Federal Hill in Baltimore City is closing in July. But the closure is only temporary as they are adding 4 duckpin lanes to the second floor of the establishment.

The move comes as the owners, Marc McFaul and his wife, have seen a dramatic drop in people coming form outside of the city and they are positioning the business to attract more neighborhood and local patrons.

The project was inspired by Alley Oops, another concept that McFaul is developing at 131st Street in Ocean City, Maryland. Alley Oops is scheduled to open in July 2019.

McFaul added that the Federal Hill redux will take its cues from their other locations in Bethany Beach and Chincoteague. If the duckpin bowling terns into the kind of draw on customers that they expect, also extending patron time spent in the venue, they will consider adding lanes to those other locations as well.

Baltimore Business Journal

June 18, 2019 0

Pins Mechanical to Open 4 New Locations

Troy Allen’s Rise Brands is on a roll, with three locations already open throughout Ohio. The concept of Pins Mechanical Co. combines pinball, duckpin bowling, and great drinks. Interestingly, none of the current venues serve food, but have food trucks and neighborhood food providers for hungry patrons. Its a complement to the company’s 16-Bit, an arcade-based venue.

Last week, Allen announced that four new locations have been procured and are in various stages of development. The new locations are Nashville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. As they gain experience, they are making each location bigger to accommodate the crowds and to host large parties and corporate events. The Cleveland location is expected to start construction at the end of 2019 while the others are already being developed with expected opening dates in late 2019 or early 2020.

Allen added that additional locations in those areas are likely as their plan is to use a “hub-and-spoke model,” where one urban location is followed by additional suburban units. He also let slip that they are already researching markets in other states too.

It seems duckpin bowling is pretty popular these days and entertainment centers such as Pins Mechanical Co. seem to have the right formula to bring people in to bowl. They are currently installing 26-foot lanes with 8-foot approaches. As has become the norm, Qubica/AMF machines are used for the pinsetters.

An interesting aspect about this news is the location in Indianapolis. When completed, along with other recent announcements, Indianapolis will have 8 duckpin venues. This elevates the area and again raises the question as to whether regulation/sanctioned duckpin could grow in this midwest city.

News from Clevescene.com – Ohio City to Get a Combined 16-Bit and Pins Mechanical Co.

June 18, 2019 0

Andretti Opens with Duckpins in San Antonio

Andretti Indoor Karting and Games has opened and includes a “boutique bowling experience”. We simply call it duckpin bowling.

The venue boasts 12 full-size duckpin lanes with Qubica/AMF string pinsetters. While their website mentions 4-1/2 lb bowling balls but we cannot yet confirm that and believe it is an error.

Andretti Indoor Karting and Games

June 7, 2019 2

Maryland Duckpins Article in Garden & Guns Magazine

In the Southern Agenda section of this issue, the magazine gives a high-level view of duckpin bowling in Maryland. This year’s top-ranked female bowlers, Lisa Huber, is quoted as is NDBC Executive Director Laura Bowden.

Garden & Gun June/July 2019

June 7, 2019 0

Hoppin’ Vines or Hopping Ducks?

Cincinatti has yet another pseudo-duckpin venue at the happening bar called Hoppin’ Vines. Home to 6 lanes built by Infinity Bowling, each is 26′ in length and uses string pinsetters that can be reset for rubberband, 5-pin, and tenpin if desired.

Owner Steve Schoembs, also a founder of Mason Craft Brewery, built the concept combining great craft beer, good food, and duckpin bowling. They opted to use lanes without approaches to avoid the hassles associated with stocking, maintaining, and tracking bowling shoes. They also felt that by eliminating the shoes, people would be more inclined to play the game. The numbers are proving him correct as the lanes stay quite busy most nights and weekends.

As a business, Infinity Bowling reported, “The average length of guest stay is OVER 3 hours per visit with a 3 hour waiting list. This is bowling on steroids…”

Hoppin’ Vines Cincinatti

June 6, 2019 0

Pinhouse Brings mini-Duckpin to Charlotte

Once a hotbed of duckpin activity, Charlotte, NC, has not had any version of duckpin sing about 1981. Well, no more!

Pinhouse, located at 2306 Central Ave., was recently developed by the owners of South End’s Hoppin’, Rich Moyer and Drew Nessemeier. It is designed primarily as a bar with self-pour taps featuring local craft beers.

The establishment will have a soft opening later this month and a grand opening July 27, 2019. It will consist of two floors, 72 self-pouring taps and a balcony overlooking Veterans Park. The decor will offer the feeling that you’ve stepped outside the city and into some Gastby-esque reality.

The lanes are 26 ft long, have no approaches, and use string machines.

CharlotteFive – Self-pour bowling bar sets opening date in Plaza Midwood

June 6, 2019 0

Duckpins in Oregon in 1897!

This article from 2007 shows that duckpin bowling was probably common on the West Coast. In this case, the location is Portland, Oregon.

The Hendricks Building is on the National Historic Register. It is documented that the building opened in 1897 and housed a saloon, “bawdy rooms”, a card room, and…

…a duckpin bowling alley.

We already know there was a duckpin center in Cannon Beach, Oregon. So there was definitely an interest and participation. What is most interesting to me is the aspect of a duckpin bowling alley being here in 1897. When taken in context of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island having one in its architectural drawings of 1878, the history of the game needs to be rewritten.

East Oregonian

June 5, 2019 0

The Wolf in Oklahoma Enjoys Ducks

Near Tenkiller State Park and Lake in Oklahoma is a well-liked golf course whose clubhouse is referred to as The Wolf at Tenkiller. Besides golf, they happen to also host 4 regulation duckpin lanes in an area called The Duck Club. The lanes have been there since 2011 and use Mendes string pinsetters.

The lanes are somewhat popular with the surrounding community and especially the seniors. The center staff do their best to put Fall and Winter leagues together and hold an occasional tournament.

The Wolf at Tenkiller – The Duck Club

June 5, 2019 0