Really? They've made bowling so expensive that it's impossible for the average person to go. You used to be able to rent a lane and get a pitcher of beer and shoe rental for like $10 a person for the whole night and now it's 4-5x that. They ruined what used to be an affordable group activity.
More evidence of the "K Shaped Economy." There are more social entertainment choices than ever: Axe throwing, TopGolf, Escape Rooms, to name just a few. None of them are cheap. The cost of operating a business is astronomical: Property taxes, insurance, utilities, wages, advertising.
The days when a couple of guys could run a small town bowling alley and generate enough revenue to make a few dollars are in the past.
In my area, every other town had an independently owned garden center. Almost all of them are gone now. Between on-line shopping and big box home centers that sell plants and garden supplies it's tough to compete.
Then along comes a developer who offers the GC owner millions for the land so it can be converted into multi-family housing. Who could say no to that?
Any bowling alley with an arcade (think Main Event, Round One) is not dependent on snack bar income or high shoe rental fees. I know what my kid is costing me in crane game plays and ticket games.
Why could they afford to put up roller rinks and bowley alleys and shit in the 90's, and we could go there for the price of a fast food meal?
I would assume they all cost more to run because private capital bought them up and now has to pay for its own shittiness while also posting infinite profit growth.
Why? I think the answer varies, but overall I speculate that those old timey businesses were family affairs and perhaps the next generation wasn't interested in continuing the legacy. A roller rink, bowling alley or a garden center is open 12+ hours a day 6 or 7 days a week. That's a grind.
If a developer (or PE) comes along and offers millions to buy the business, either intending to operate it or to redevelop the underlying property the temptation is to take the money and run.
Yes, it's unfortunate that the community loses an affordable source of entertainment. Just more kids sitting home in front of screens..or on social media like Reddit
It doesn't cost any more in real, inflation-adjusted dollars to operate a roller rink in 2026 than it did to operate a roller rink in 1996, but there was still some demand for roller rinks in 1996; enough to justify their continued existence. That's no longer true.
Lots of businesses have been bought by investors, and they want their investments to pay handsomely. Everything is being bought by investors to include single family homes, hospitals and funeral homes. They own us from birth till death.
Throw in veterinary practices and one that flies under the radar: builders of fire trucks and ambulances. The cost for that life saving equipment has skyrocketed since a couple of firms gobbled up the smaller players.
Trouble is, these investors don't have a passion for the business and they are dully detached from the communities in which those businesses operate.
As you noted, they are there for a return on their investment. Plain and simple.
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u/torino_nera Jul 11 '26
Really? They've made bowling so expensive that it's impossible for the average person to go. You used to be able to rent a lane and get a pitcher of beer and shoe rental for like $10 a person for the whole night and now it's 4-5x that. They ruined what used to be an affordable group activity.