Her grandfather built his first bowling center, Boulevard Bowl, at the corner of Harry and George Washington Blvd in southeast Wichita. Her father, John Crum, grew the family business over the years and was a Hall of Famer in the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America.ĭeSocio and her husband, Frank, bought their first bowling center in 1993. They have been involved on the local, state and national levels of the bowling industry. Now, DeSocio is trying to find a way, and lead other bowling proprietors, through one of the biggest upheavals in bowling since the Prohibition era in the 1920s when bowling alleys had to separate from saloons. "Our business is down considerably," DeSocio said. "We’re doing everything we can to stay open, but also 100% keeping our employees and our customers as safe as humanly possible."Īt Northrock Lanes, less than half of the center’s 48 lanes are in use on a recent Saturday afternoon. Bowlers of all ages are on the lanes rolling balls. Some are warming up for a casual tournament that’s about to start. A few families are celebrating birthdays with a game or two and spending time in the arcade. No leagues are playing this day, so just getting bowlers through the door is a win. Like most businesses, bowling alleys were forced to shut down last spring when the coronavirus started to spread. Reopening meant reimagining operations so bowling could continue in a safe way. We have sanitizing procedures in place that are pretty stringent," DeSocio said. The alleys have always used disinfectants on the house bowling balls and those infamous flat leather bowling shoes. Now the shared equipment and bowler areas closest to the lanes get extra attention. "It makes us a little slower to turn over and get people out onto the lanes," DeSocio said.
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