By Andrea Arens
Rick Hansen never envisioned himself as an owner of a bowling alley.
Yet, after the Peotone Bowl closed last year he couldn’t bear the thought of the community losing it, and so he jumped right in.
Hansen and his partner, Mandy Avis, run Archy’s Sweet treats just across the street. Hansen also owns a general contracting business in which he renovates and restores homes. Bowling wasn’t necessarily his wheel house, but he didn’t hesitate to save a community establishment.
Hansen said, “It was sad to see the bowling alley closed. We’re so excited to provide a new lease of life to this traditional bowling alley and a staple to the Peotone community. Our intention is to create a new, fun experience for families, as well as local residents who have many memories from years past and are ready to make new ones. Many old time bowling alleys have disappeared over the years, and we did not want the same to happen to Peotone Bowl.”
Hansen isn’t wrong. Pin and Tonic in Beecher just reopened with new owners, but the Skylane bowling alley in Manteno closed almost 20 years ago. The next closest bowling alleys are in Frankfort and Kankakee.
Hansen didn’t waste any time putting his renovation experience to work and immediately renovated the bathrooms. Paint looks something like candyland, but that can be attributed to his youngest teenage daughter, who had a ton of fun creating the bright and fun atmosphere.
Hansen moved stuff around and created a mini gaming area with a photo booth and has big plans to launch packages with pizza from Tony’s Pizza and ice cream from Archy’s Sweet Treats, in the hopes they’ll service parties, family get-togethers, fundraisers, and business outings.
They’re also starting a youth bowling club every other Saturday morning beginning February 11. The goal is to gain interest to start a competitive youth league in the fall.
Hansen said Peotone Bowl will have open bowling every day, with varying times. There’s room for leagues to start a half season on Wednesday and Thursday nights. There’s also a Sunday Family special that includes one lane, for one hour, for one family, and includes a cheese pizza and a pitcher of soda for $45. They’ll also have cosmic bowling every Friday night and arcade games.
They also will host the Peotone Classic Tournament in 2023.
The name for the bar came from the mural in Archy’s, named and designed by Hansen’s son, who thought the bar looked like it was designed like a dugout. Hansen added two dart machines in the Dugout and is open to leagues. Hansen also is planning live entertainment and karaoke in the future.
The Peotone girls bowling team was there for a match on February 1, and they were very happy to be bowling at home once again.
Excellent story and well written.