TUNKHANNOCK TOWNSHIP -- After decades of strikes, spares and gutter balls, the only bowling alley in the Tunkhannock area of Wyoming County is closed.
Bowling leagues at the Shadowbrook Bowling Lanes found out just as they were getting ready to start up for the fall and they want it back open.
A look in the windows at Shadowbrook Bowling Lanes near Tunkhannock and you can see the place is still set up for bowling; all the pins are still standing but a sign on the door says it is closed for repairs.
Regular bowlers fear the place is closed for good.
"We just want to bowl, all of us. We want to stay local. It's good for the kids, we need it," said Jacki Whitman of Tunkhannock.
Whitman has been bowling at Shadowbrook for thirty years. She found out the lanes were closed just as league play was about to resume.
"I'm hoping that they'll open again. I know that there's a little work that needs to be done. We're not asking for everything. It doesn't have to be modernized, because it isn't. But we're just hoping they can open it."
There are no repairs underway inside right now, but the general manager at Shadowbrook says the sign on the door is not dishonest. He says they're trying to figure out what repairs, if any, to make. One thing is for sure, it won't be open this season.
The general manager said the bowling lanes were neglected for years. The resort isn't sure how to renovate the facility yet or if it will. He says for now, owners who bought the resort two years ago are focused on more profitable parts of the business, like golf.
While Shadowbrook Lanes are closed, Belevedere Lanes 10 miles away in Nicholson is welcoming new customers.
"We picked up some teams in our leagues, always looking for more. Birthday parties are up, open bowling seems to be doing a little better. It's a shame they closed, but glad we're doing more business," said Alan Loch
Belvedere has been family-run for 50 years. Owner Alan Loch acknowledges that it takes a lot of updates and a lot of work to keep customers coming.
"It's a tough, tough business to be in."
Regular bowlers at Shadowbrook Bowling Lanes hope resort managers meet with them to figure some way to get the place open again. But those who run the resort say the bowling alley just wasn't profitable enough the way it was.