| Leland, NC
Thunder Alley Bowling Center
by Rebecca Pierre
Ricky and Ginger Roberts had a dream of building a place where families could strengthen their bonds by playing together. Combining this philosophy with Ricky’s dream of having a bowling alley at home produced their brainchild, Thunder Alley, a state-of-the-art bowling alley and more.Thunder Alley is a far cry from the days of pin boys that some of us remember, but General Manager Kevin Groves admits that there are a couple of former pin boys living in the neighborhood who have very interesting stories to tell.
Alcohol-free and smoke-free by design, Thunder Alley is a great place to gather for family fun and friendly competition, and some of the extra features here are surprising. Two mini-bowling lanes (one-third scale) are provided for those who have difficulty handling the heavier balls. For an intimate party, two private bowling lanes are available in private rooms that are set up with comfy couches and Bose home theater systems with a 10-foot screen for TV or movie watching. A corporate meeting room seats up to 45 people.
A huge room designed especially for kid (or adult) birthday parties is located behind the arcade. The 2,700-square-foot arcade contains more than 30 jumbo-sized arcade games like skee ball and air hockey. These super-size games are an attraction in themselves. Take the popular Giant Stacker, in which you could win such prizes as an X Box, I-pod, video camera or Nintendo DS.
For viewing sporting events or other wholesome family entertainment, four, 210-inch satellite screens (the width of three bowling lanes) drop down at the ends of the lanes. These can be viewed from the seating on the main concourse if you are not bowling.Thunder Alley also includes a full-service grille and coffee shop with tasty food, a casual ambience and cozy seating. The menu will surprise you with its list of panini sandwiches, soups and salads, not to mention the Thunder Burger, a specialty of the house. Here you can relax with a cappuccino while your kids bowl or entertain themselves in the arcade — that is if you can resist the lure of the arcade yourself.
As part of their dedication to providing safe fun for children, the folks at Thunder Alley are planning youth leagues and periodic clinics and camps. They are encouraging the formation of neighborhood leagues that can then compete for the Best Neighborhood Trophy. They have daytime leagues and nighttime leagues, including mixed leagues, men’s leagues, lousy bowler leagues and fun leagues, and are open to other suggestions, but open bowling will always be the main event.
What do other professionals in the bowling field think of Thunder Alley? Kevin relates a story about a couple of peers who work at other bowling alleys who stopped by for a few games. As they were leaving, one of them commented, “So this is what a bowling alley in heaven would be like.” Funny, my mama always did tell me not to be afraid of thunder — that it was just the sound of the angels bowling.
Thunder Alley Bowling Center, 910-371-0119, www.thunderalleybowling.com
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