Before she started working at Eastmont Lanes as the general manager, you could find Stacy Humphries there every Sunday, bowling with her family.
“For a really, really long time, we made it our Sunday family fun day activity. We came every Sunday morning religiously for years,” she said. “For us and many families it was a good activity we could all do together.”
The bowling alley has changed a lot since it was first built in 1975. It has been operated by multiple local families and has housed a full restaurant, a casino and a bar. Today, the bowling alley is home to an arcade, a cafe and, of course, the 16 full-size bowling lanes it was built with.
The current owner, Michelle Baugher, took over the business in 2015. She currently leases the building from the family that began the business in the '70s.
Baugher's emphasis has been on making Eastmont Lanes more family-friendly than ever – a goal Humphries shares.
“Michelle has made a lot of changes – changing from a restaurant to a café, she introduced birthday party packages, she is always looking for different ways to be a family entertainment destination,” Humphries said.
When the restaurant was in full swing and the back of the building housed a casino, nightlife at Eastmont Lanes was different, Humphries said. Baugher and Humphries said they worked with their bar manager to change the culture.
“We worked really hard to kind of change the mindset of customers here,” she said. “We’re not a dive bar, we’re not a niche bar, we have a bar, but we want everybody to be able to have a good time here.”
It has worked, said Humphries. The alley hosts birthday parties, staff parties, fundraising events, family gatherings and 14 different bowling leagues ranging in age and ability. The oldest bowlers are in their 90s, Humphries said, and their youngest are just learning to walk.
“Bowling is a lifelong sport – you can do it from the time you start walking,” she said. “For a lot of bowlers, it’s like therapy. You have a bad day at work, or something is going on, it’s how they blow off steam.”
There are senior, youth, special needs and teachers’ leagues. In 2022, Humphries said bowlers played around 28,000 league games and around 76,000 open-play games.
“A lot of them come for the social aspect, the competitive aspect or just to work things out on the lanes,” she said. “There are so many reasons.”
Like many businesses, the future was uncertain for Eastmont Lanes during the pandemic shutdowns in 2020 and 2021.
“During that time, so many businesses that were in the same boat as us couldn’t come back – so miraculously, through community support, we were able to come back,” Humphries said.
Bowlers and league organizers organized a yard sale, a fundraising account and online craft bizarre to raise money for the bowling alley.
“Our community really was like, ‘We don’t want to see you guys go under.’ So that helped Michelle stay afloat and pay the bills,” Humphries said. “The fact that we’re here after everything – we’re very grateful.”
Baugher worked to keep core employees working during the closure, Humphries said. While the business could still afford it, Baugher made improvements to facilities – adding new paint and redoing floors. The plan is to continue improvements to make the space cleaner and more welcoming.
Unlike many bowling alleys after the pandemic, Eastmont Lanes did not permanently adopt a play-by-the-hour model.
“We didn’t believe it was in the best interest for our business model to tell people how long they could stay with us,” Humphries said. “I want to think that because we are encouraging people to stay and recreate with us until they feel they’re done, that’s been an advantage for us.”
Their goal is always inclusivity, Humphries said.
“The thing that I’ve heard over and over again from bowlers who have come from other bowling alleys to ours for a tournament or something like that is, ‘We love coming here,’ because we try to keep it clean and because of the staff,” Humphries said.
In addition, the bowling alley sponsors events and hosts field trips and fundraisers.
“We want to give back to as many businesses and nonprofits as we can,” she said. “If we get a donation request, we want to fulfill as many of those as we can.”
They also participate in Kids Bowl Free, a national summer program that lets kids under 18 bowl for free from May to August.
“Since everything has gone back to normal, if you will, we’ve been having a lot of new business, repeat business and last year our Kids Bowl Free numbers were huge. Last summer was the busiest summer that we’ve had in years,” Humphries said. “I want to believe it’s because the culture here is inclusive, family-friendly and wholesome. We’re just trying to provide a great experience for people.”