By BILL SNIER
EAST SPARTA — Although Keith and Kim Avon took over the former eight-lane Alley in the Valley on May 13, they have remained quiet on their plans for the center.
That is, except for occasional Facebook and other social media posts.
“We found some interviews with the past two owners, and they were saying what they were going to do, and then it wasn’t done,” Kim Avon said. “We didn’t want to be those people.
“We decided we were going to be quiet, do our own thing and decide how far we want to take this. We were not going to let out a lot of details until we open. When we do, you will either like it or you won’t. We were not going to make promises we weren’t going to be able to keep.”
So, at 4 p.m. Friday (Aug. 2), it was time to unveil the new “Thunder in the Alley,” under the ownership of the Mineral City couple and their eight children, ranging in age from 15 to 30.
They purchased the center from former owners Bryce and Tammy Langford for $217,000 and have invested “over six figures” in the facility to this point in preparing for Friday’s opening, Keith Avon said.
Keith, 50, is a supervisor at Greer Steel in Dover; Kim, also 50, runs her own kennel breeding business. They have no experience in the bowling business, except that “we’re just ordinary people who worked our butts off all our lives,” Keith said.
It was two of their children, 25-year-old Darren and 15-year-old Chantz, a Tuscarawas Valley High School student, who got them interested in bowling.
“Every time the kids wanted to go bowl, they had leagues and they couldn’t do it,” Keith said. “I’m not saying that was a bad thing, but there was no open bowling. Then then discovered this place during the rare times it was open.
“We talked to (the Langfords) and found out it was for sale, and the kids said how wonderful it would be to work in and own a bowling alley. The kids were fully into it, backed us and still want to help.”
“They were pretty determined,” Kim added, “and they pretty much get what they want.”
But the Avons didn’t make the investment without doing their research.
“When we came in here the first time, it wasn’t super busy, but it was busy and it was a weekend. Everyone in here seemed to be having a good time,” Kim said. “When we talked about buying it, everyone we talked to, their biggest complaint was it was never open anymore.
“We started digging and found previous interviews where people had said what they wanted to do but, for various reasons, things didn’t happen. The community seemed down-hearted and felt they were not getting what they wanted out of this place.
“But we have the vision and the ability, so it’s like let’s just do it. It’s basically about the community and giving back what they once had and loved. It’s been kind of gone for awhile.”
The former owners, who took over in October 2022, had attempted to auction the center in September 2023, but it didn’t sell. So they retained ownership, opening only on weekends, until the sale in May.
“Our 15-year-old needs a job and we figured what’s a better place to raise him than in a bowling alley and, eventually, leave this to our other children,” Kim said. “They can grow up, take it on and do something with it.
“Our intentions were to make it nice again. When we came into it, our vision was entirely different that the previous owners.”
There will be no outside employees at this point; the Avons will work the center as a family.
NOTICEABLE CHANGES
It didn’t take long for the Avons to realize where improvements were needed.
“It’s not that we didn’t know what we were going to face,” Keith said. “It was the condition that some of the things were in, and they were still able to operate.”
It started with the automated scoring system
“That was the biggest hurdle. The guy who came in here said we were about one step ahead of a pencil,” Keith said, adding that New Center Consulting out of Rochester Hills, Mich., installed a new scoring system along with new monitors.
“The monitors were three different sizes … they were kind of odd balls,” Keith added.
Other major changes that will be immediately noticed:
- Painting of the inside walls, including graphics by the Avons’ nephew on the right side wall of the center;
- New carpeting and ceiling tiles;
- New pins, alley shoes and bowling balls;
- A new snack bar menu, focusing on “food you would see in a bowling-bar setting. We’re not going to get elaborate or stay open just for the kitchen,” Kim said. There will be no carryout available.
- Liquor license, focusing on both beer, with limited mixed drinks available at this time (42 proof alcohol only). That license currently is in the process of being transferred, but the bar is open.
- The lanes and approaches have been screened and coated by a professional. “He told us that if we are doing well and everyone is bowling well, we can do a full sanding later,” Keith said. “He said the bad news is that they needed attention, and hadn’t had any for a long time. But the good news is that still have plenty of sanding left and synthetics were not needed. He said ‘we can work with this.’ ”
- There is a new pool table and electronic and redemption games also have been added.
- The addition of cosmic (or glow) bowling.
- A new water softening system, including repairs to the basement. “We needed to get the smell that was here out,” Kim said.
BOWLING PLANS
The center will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; noon to 1 a.m. Saturday; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. The family will close the center on Tuesdays “for repairs, general maintenance and, frankly, to give us a break,” Keith said.
Open bowling prices are $5 per game, with a $2 shoe rental fee. Specials may be offered for birthday parties or special events once the center gets rolling.
The question about leagues remains up in the air at this point.
“We want to kind of ease into that. Leagues are going to be a little tougher because we really don’t have a lot of experience with this. We’re not going to lie,” Kim said. “We have to learn just like everyone else.”
“This is a small facility and we’re trying to take it all in and take suggestions. People have contacted us, but we not sure exactly what they are looking for in leagues,” Keith added.
The family also have been contacted by both Sandy Valley and Canton South about bowling for physical education and high school programs.
“That’s another part of this we are going to have to figure out,” Kim said.
The center also has an oiling machine left over from the previous owners.
“We thought it was working great until the soft opening,” Keith said about last weekend. “But we weren’t going things correctly and we’re ironing that out.”
The center also has just one bumper lane available.
“Our lanes all are USBC certified at this point,” Keith said. “We’re working on the bumper lanes. We can get Lanes 6 and 7 done pretty quickly and we’re working on 1 and 2. Our goal is to have bumpers available on all lanes.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Avons admitted when they first took over the center, it was a lot to take in. But the friendship of the Jarvis family, which operates Boulevard Lanes in Dover, got them through their doubts.
“We felt like backing away at one point before we closed, but Deb and Scott (Jarvis) encouraged us,” said Kim, adding that Scott has been instrumental in helping Keith to learn art the center’s pinsetters. “I’m not sure if we would have gone through with it. They’ve been very helpful with all their experience.”
With that said, there still is work to be done.
“We’re going to focus on the outside of the building next year,” Kim said, adding a patio is among the improvements.
Other potential changes are adding some high-top tables with ball racks on them; changing out the bench seating in the bowlers’ circles; updating both the lighting and speaker system; and replacement or painting of the gutters and caps.
But getting the opening out of the way and learning what the community thinks is first on the agenda.
“Keith knows what he is doing with construction and (Brenden) has been handling our POS and technology side of it. We’ve gotten a lot of advice,” Kim said.
“But we are going to have to learn everything ourselves so we can train the kids to do it also for now and in the future.”
But they are ready for the challenge.
“We are going to start slowly and see how things go,” Kim said. “But we have the vision and the ability to bring it back.”