All-Star Lanes will not reopen
In the wake of a devastating October fire, the owner of North Fort Myers’ 58-year-old bowling alley says he will not reopen the historic establishment.
All-Star Lanes will not reopen after months of speculation and hope the business would be back in operation in time for next season
Owner Bill Hanson made the announcement on his business’ Facebook page early Wednesday afternoon, saying there was too much damage done to the inside of the aging facility.
“It is with great regret that I tell all of my loyal customers and friends that All Star Lanes will not be reopening. The building and equipment was just too heavily damaged and this compounded with the age of the facility and current building codes made it impossible to proceed,” Hanson said on his Facebook post.
Hanson said when they started to get the bids to repair the building, they were surprisingly high, much more than their insurance could handle.
“Over the last year construction prices have gone up 30 to 35 percent. To repair just the building was almost $2 million,” Hanson said. “With the age of the building and bringing it to code. It got to the point where it wasn’t economically feasible.”
Hanson said he had insurance for about $2.4 million for the building and contents, as well as interruption insurance. But by the time they got to the point where they replaced the building and machinery, the total costs ran up to $3 million.
Within hours of the news, more than 100 posts came in from well-wishers, some of whom had bowled there for decades, to express condolences and share great memories, from the bowling to karaoke to the waitresses who wore referee garb.
In the early morning of Oct. 18, All-Star Lanes was badly damaged by a fire that forced the closure of the bowling alley. Nobody was injured.
An electrical fire broke out just after midnight as the facility was about to close with five employees and a few customers inside.
One of the electrical boxes failed, Hanson said. While waiting for LCEC to turn the power on, it took out the propane line.
“When the propane started going, it superheated the inside of the building like a pressure cooker. It forced smoke into every nook and cranny in the building,” Hanson said. “The intense heat bent one of the beams, and it takes about 1,600 degrees for that. The damage was extensive from one end of the building to the other.”
Hanson said everything had to be replaced, from the kitchen to the lanes.
All-Star, which is part of the Bowland family, had no problem finding takers. Bowland Cape Coral held a breast cancer awareness tournament that was scheduled for All-Star Lanes just days after the fire.
Coral Lanes and Hedpinz Cape Coral agreed to take over all the leagues and fundraisers and honor All-Star’s pricing, sponsorships and perks. Bowlers would only have to drive to Cape Coral.
Hanson, who bought the facility in August 2010 and had operated the facility while employed with Bowland in 2000, had expressed confidence he would be able to reopen in time for next tourist season, but weeks dragged into months.
Hanson kept his loyal supporters in the loop with updates on Facebook, where he received unwavering support from those who have patronized the center.
Hanson has returned to work for Bowland, while his former All-Star Lanes employees have also gotten work at Bowland facilities if they wanted it.
“Pat Snell is a good friend. He’s always been there to help me and the bowling community. They stepped up, they took in most of my employees, they took care of the leagues and tournaments,” Hanson said. “They really took care of us.”
As for All-Star Lanes, Hanson said they will salvage what they can, but the building eventually will be demolished.
“Seven and a half acres of commercial real estate. I haven’t thought of what the land might be worth or what we can do to it,” Hanson said. “Life goes on. Is there room for another bowling center in Southwest Florida? Who knows.”