he new frontier of bowling hasarrived and, along with it, a newmodel for integrating coin-opamusement into one of the oldest

sports. Through a new program

launched by industry giantBrunswick Bowling calledBrunswick Build to Bowl, thecompany will entirely design, out-fit and supply an amusement cen-ter on an existing property, usingits network of suppliers to create

a turnkey package deal. This deal in-cludes literally everything, from the ar-chitectural designs and construction tomillworks and kitchen fixtures, all at di-rect cost with no mark ups, excluding

bowling and billiard supplies. After theoverhead cost, there are no franchise feesor revenue sharing; it is solely the own-er’s and/or investors’ business.

The brain child of Hank Harris, VP ofdesign and construction, this con-

ceptual consultant pro-gram has become one ofthe most fascinating divi-sions of BrunswickBowling. Eight years inthe making, the scale of

BOWLING’SMULTIPLE

PERSONALITIESBrunswick Bowling’s Turnkey Program and

Stars and Strikes

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September 2005 • RePlay Magazine • Page 117

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this operation is as large as it is extremelydetailed. A look inside one facility in par-ticular, which features a game room thatrivals its stand-alone counterparts, is thebest way to see the big picture and its po-tential.

Seeing StarsChris Albano and managing partner

Jack Canause had a vision similar tomany entrepreneurs: galvanizing the in-nate potential from a gutted piece of realestate and channeling it into a fun, smartbusiness that offers something differentfor everyone. In their case, the propertywas a former Wal-Mart, one of the skele-tons left behind as the corporation pullsout of fairly large structures to build be-hemoth-sized super centers. The partnerswanted a bowling facility but not just any

garden-variety set of lanes. They aimedto showcase bowling within the largestpossible network of attractions that wouldboth emphasize and offset the sport anddo so through a sleek overall design thatwould cater to style and not pander tokitsch. Ultimately, their target audiencewould be families looking to get out ofthe house and have fun together.

The idea was grand in scope, butBrunswick Bowling brought to life thismeticulous concept and did so for lessthan Albano and Canause would havespent planning it on their own from theground up.

Located in Cumming, Ga., about 10miles north of Alpharetta (a suburb 25miles north of Atlanta), Stars and Strikescontains 36 lanes of action known as TheThunderbird 36, a video game room

called The Twilight Zone, a 5,000 squarefoot laser tag arena known as NextDimension and Coach’s Corner, a 4,000-square-foot sports bar. Each aspect of thefacility, run by 12 management staffersand between 80 and 100 hourly employ-ees, works in combination with the otherslike a family amusement center’s attrac-tions but without slighting the primarystatus of balls and pins.

“Your business has to have an identityat its core,” says Chris, who is originallyfrom New York and has lived in Georgiafor almost 10 years. “Our core, the nucle-us of it, is the 36 bowling lanes. We’refirst and foremost a bowling center at theend of the day.”

Backing up that idea are the leagues— Mixed, Women’s and Men’s — thatare currently being planned. Birthday par-

Twenty four of the thirty-six bowling lanes at Stars and Strikes stretch out in the back of the52,000 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.

The back wall ofthe Thunderbird 36 isa painted panoramaof famous locales inAtlanta and northGeorgia. Seen hereare Centennial Park,home of the 1996Summer Olympics;Lake Lanier, a hugelake fed mainly by theChattahoochee Riverknown regionally forits scenic beauty; andTurner Field, home ofthe Braves.

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The sign for the bowling area shows the qual-ity of the hand-painted signage throughoutStars and Strikes. The differently styled signsnot only designate an attraction but help tocreate distinct atmospheres.

ties are also a huge priority and source ofrevenues, and the facility prides itself onhaving “a birthday party fleet ready togo,” according to Charlene Herez, direc-tor of sales and marketing. Other bowlingthrills and frills are here as well: cosmicbowling and a live DJ greet bowlers onFriday and Saturday nights.

The laser tag arena, mini-arcade, caféand bar, which closes after 10PM to mi-nors, are also designed to underscore thebowling 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 occu-pied, they can make a reservation and en-tertain themselves with the array ofchoices. When their lane opens up, a re-mote electronic device, such as those dis-tributed in large-scale family restaurants,

notifies the group that a lane has becomeavailable.

Speaking of restaurants, the food atthe Starlight Drive-In is not standardmediocre fare but fifties-style cuisinethat’s sensible for an establishment court-ing families with young kids and playerson the go.

“People come in the first time becausethey hear it’s a bowling center,” explainsChris, “but then they see the differentkinds of food and realize that it’s actuallygreat food. The next time when they’rewaiting for lanes, which happens a lot onthe weekends especially during the sum-mer, they can they get a bite to eat, like

chicken fingers, as they watch the ball-game.”

Stars and Strikes only just opened itsdoors in mid-July, and Chris believes thatover time the location’s different divi-sions, each impressively outfitted, willgenerate their own buzz and attractionstatus. The Coach’s Corner, for example,has 22 televisions with DIRECTV anddistinctive burgers whose recipes are in-spired by famous coaches, plus nightlyevents: Tuesday’s “Trivia and T-Bonedinner,” Wednesday specials on wingsand karoke and Thursday’s Texas Hold’Em poker tournaments. It also has sever-al billiard tables and an extended menu

The Twilight Zone, home to more than 85amusement games, has become a main attrac-tion on its own accord while entertaining otherswaiting for access to a lane.

Most machines in the arcade, operated by Tricorps, require a game card.

Abandon All Hope Ye Who EnterHere: Inside the laser tag arena, the walls areairbrushed to almost resemble a psychedelicalien landscape.

Who wouldn’t enjoy a black light laser maze?

Page 120 • RePlay Magazine • September 2005

selection, creating a full-fledged restau-rant with an autonomy of its own.

Eventually, he envisions people justdropping by for a steak or severalteenagers getting the urge to play lasertag in the black-light maze and showingup to do so. In order to develop each in-terrelated area’s distinctive appeal, thereis no flat admission rate to the facility,only a “pay as you go” system, and ubiq-uitous hand-painted signage over the52,000 square feet of fun.

Entering the TwilightZone

The Twilight Zone, the 5,000-square-foot video and coin-op game component,truly benefits from this selective indepen-dence and has already proven to be “ahuge piece of the pie,” constituting “amajor part of the revenue,” according toChris.

“It features a standard videogamecomplement,” says Steve Paris ofTricorps, the official operator, “with afull-bevel, 85-piece count and about fouror five pieces in the bar.”

Approximately 70% of the games areredemption-based. Prominent games fea-tured include Mad Wave Motion Theatre,The Fast and the Furious, Dance DanceRevolution, Nothin’ but Net, Cyclone,Tower of Power and Spin-N-Win, as wellas air hockey tables and more, forming asubstantial arcade. A second area is dedi-cated to a bank of linked Daytona games.

Brad VanBuskirk, Chris’ nephew,moved from Pittsburgh to supervise TheTwilight Zone. Brad says that most of themachines run off game cards available

for purchase, a system that they are look-ing to extend into the laser tag division. Adozen classic games are coin operated.

“A lot of people come and buy a gamecard just to play Mad Wave,” says Bradwhen asked about popular games. “Whenwe opened, people came in and didn’t re-alize everything that we have. Now a lotof people come just for the game room.”

“Spin-N-Win has better numbers thanthe Mad Wave,” adds Rob Geiger, theGeorgia area manager for Tricorps.“Nothing but Net does super well withthe bar crowd as well.”

Rob gives a lot of credit to DavidCapilouto of Greater Southern Distribut-ing, who supplied the games and manysupporting services, describing him as a

“fantastic vendor.”

Meeting One’s MakerStanding on his newest construction

site in Burlington, Iowa, Hank Harris cansee the plan of Brunswick Build toBowl’s newest amusement park takingshape, featuring a water park, a 21,000-square-foot indoor go-kart track, a sportsbar and more, forming 97,000 totalsquare feet of fun.

“We provide a service that no one elsehas at this magnitude,” says Hank, whoseexcitement and pride in the programshines through his voice. “We’ve de-signed and built a lot and have learned somuch in the process. Now we can take

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Arctic Thunder and Lethal Enforcer get players’ hearts pumping before they play laser tag.

The deep-brown wood and sophisticated look of the Coach’sCorner, a full sports bar, creates a mature, relaxed mood for playerswanting 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.

September 2005 • RePlay Magazine • Page 121

everything that was a success and do itagain for other independents while cus-tomizing owner priorities.”

Hank has been involved in design andconstruction with Brunswick Bowling for39 years and has built well over 100 facil-

ities for the corporation. Hestarted developing Build toBowl in 1997, and a year laterhe built the first independent fa-cility in Overland Park, Kan.,for Danny Jackson, the KansasCity Royals pitcher who hadjust retired. Since then, he hasguided seven other amusementfacilities from the drawingboard to ribbon cutting.

Regarding Stars and Strikes,Hanks says that while it is pri-marily a bowling center, “thelast thing I want you to seewhen entering is bowling.”

Instead, what impresses up-on those who enter is the designof different attractions workingsymbiotically to create a fun at-mosphere and memorable place— the benchmark of architec-tural vision — with coin-opamusement functioning as oneof the most successful support-

ive elements and as its own draw. Whatmakes the design truly work, and what willsustain its growth, are the many consider-ate, thoughtful people who pulled togethertheir energies to forge a business that is

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The full redemption counter is the Twilight Zone’s number one hot spot. The entrance to the bowling lanesof the Cumming, Ga. Stars and Strikes may be seen in the background.

Page 122 • RePlay Magazine • September 2005

truly the sum of its invaluable parts.“There’s a new market being carved

out,” concludes Chris, “and it’s a wonder-ful combination of things. Those who aredoing what we’re doing will be pleasedand successful.”

Swing by Stars and Strikes at 133Merchant Square when in Cumming, GA30040 from Sunday through Thursday,9AM till midnight, and on Friday andSaturday, 9AM till 2AM. Call 678/965-5707 or email info@starsandstrikes.org.Also take a peek at their cool website,www.starsandstrikes.org.

For more information aboutBrunswick Bowling’s Build to Bowl pro-gram or to explore potential property de-velopment, see www.brunswick bowling.com/newcenter_home andwww.brunswickbowling.com/ capitale-quipment or contact Hank Harris directlyat 847/687-2010.

Finally, to contact Tricorps, call877/TRICORPS, and to reach DavidCapilouto, call Greater SouthernDistributing at 770/803-3040.

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