New owners of Albany bowling center striking out on their own

ALBANY — The retirement of Edgar and Kelley Justavino didn’t last very long. When the couple made the decision to move to Kelley’s native Southwest Georgia after spending three-plus decades in Florida, the plan was to be closer to family, relax and try to enjoy themselves.

“My parents live in Sasser and we retired in December, so that’s what brought me and my husband back to the Albany area,” Kelley Justavino said during a recent interview at The Albany Herald. “I went to school in Lee County in high school and we were 30-something years in Jacksonville, so that’s where we were before coming back to support my parents.”

With more free time on his hands, it didn’t take Edgar Justavino long to find a place to indulge one of his passions. In short order, he became a regular at the Albany Bowl-A-Rama on West Broad Avenue.

“I really enjoy bowling,” said Edgar. “It’s very relaxing to me and that’s one of the main reasons I started bowling. Whenever I’m stressed out, that’s how I relax. It (also) takes skill, it’s technical. You have to develop your skills in bowling.”

Thanks to developing a relationship with one of the regulars at Albany’s oldest bowling alley, which opened in 1965, Edgar isn’t just developing his skills as a bowler, he’s honing his leadership skills. He and Kelley have become the bowling center’s new owners.

The Justavinos took over the Bowl-A-Rama not long after becoming friends with avid bowler Laverne Brooks, the wife of Albany businessman Bob Brooks.

“She’s the bowler,” Kelley said. “Of course I think he’s a great bowler, too … well, compared to me, they’re both great bowlers, but she’s really the bowler in the family.”

As the Justavinos tell it, it was Laverne’s Brooks’ love of bowling that prompted her husband to refurbish the place roughly a year and a half ago following years of decline under other management.

“Bob took it over in the ’90s,” said Kelley Justavino.

“Yes, he bought the building in 1991 and he rented it to AMF (a company that manufactures bowling alley equipment and operates bowling centers in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom), and then to another investor,” Edgar continued.

“It kind of went downhill from AMF through the other owners and the doors were closed,” added Kelley.

The Justavinos said that, as they understand it, the bowling center had seemingly closed for good until Brooks decided to invest some money and reopen it.

“It was closed for maybe six months before he decided to renovate it,” Edgar said. “About 18 months ago he renovated the inside of the building with brand-new bowling equipment.”

In addition to the installation of several QubicaAMF xliEdge pin-setting machines for each of the bowling center’s 24 lanes, Brooks also updated the automatic scoring equipment and the bathrooms, and replaced all of the carpet, counter-tops and pit chairs.

“Everything’s new,” Kelley said. “The only thing that was refurbished was the actual lanes. And he did a great job. It’s really nice inside now. We give all the credit to Bob.”

Although the Justavinos were impressed with the modernized equipment and the overall atmosphere of the bowling center, they were still just admiring it as customers until Edgar had a chance conversation with the Brooks family bowler.

“Laverne approached me first to see if I wanted to buy the bowling alley and I said, ‘no, I don’t have enough money in my pocket,’” Edgar recalled.

“He thought she was joking, but he does have a very good personality, and he said, ‘Well, let me think about it,’” continued Kelley. “Then Bob approached him with the same request.”

Despite not having any experience owning a bowling center or other business, Edgar finally decided to take the leap.

“It was an easy decision,” he said.

“For him as a bowler, it was really easy,’” added Kelley, who was a little more apprehensive about the prospects. “I kept saying, ‘Are we sure? Are you sure?’ But he was, right from the get-go.”

The Justavinos officially took over the Bowl-A-Rama in June. Despite starting off during a traditionally slow time of the year, things have gone smoothly.

“There’s been some up and down, but this is the nature of the bowling business,” said Edgar. “Summer is the slowest part of the year. But, yes, it’s been a success. We increased sales for the month of June 26 percent and for the month of July 24 percent from the previous year. I’m using Bob Brooks’ references. So that’s a good number. Even if it was a 10 percent improvement, I would take that during the summer because the summer is what I call the dry season.”

The Justavinos say the slow period has allowed them, and the bowling center’s 10 other employees— including new head technician Gary McGlothlin — to focus on making additional improvements.

“Bob renovated it and he an excellent job,” Kelley said. “We’re trying to improve on his improvements. Edgar has just taken the next step. He’s been doing additional improvements.”

Ever modest, Edgar said anything he’s done, other than to improve the HVAC system to make the inside more comfortable, has been because he can’t help finding things to do every time he’s at the office.

“It is more than a hobby for me because I spend 80-90 hours per week here,” Edgar said. “I am slowing down, but even though I am slowing down, the thing is, I am different. I am more hands-on. When I see something to do, like fix a chair for example, I would check every single chair to make sure all the screws were in place. I would look under a table to make sure it’s safe and secure. I’m always looking for the squeaky door and that’s why I am spending so much time here.”

Both Kelley and Edgar believe it’s that attention to detail, and their desire to present the best bowling experience they can for their customers, that’s led to their early success. Success that is all the more impressive to the new owners considering one of their greatest challenges was the public perception that the bowling alley had fallen into disrepair and just wasn’t a nice place to visit.

“A lot of people only remember how it was before Bob renovated it,” Kelley said. “They remember that it was dirty. But that has changed.”

“I have had people come in here and they like what they see now because they were here through the years. (A few) days ago I talked to a lady, and she asked me, ‘What did you do different in here? This place is so clean.’ In December when I came to Albany and I went to visit the bowling alley I encountered the smell of bar. You know what I’m talking about?”

“Even though they had already pulled out the pool tables and the carpet and quit selling liquor, it was just nasty,” added Kelley.

“Slowly I have changed that; the general feeling is that this place smells clean,” Edgar said.

“Well it is clean,” Kelley added. “It’s not just that it smells clean. I’ve had the same feedback from others too that it’s clean and they’ve enjoyed themselves. We don’t get too many complaints.”

“If you go there now we have a clean and safe environment,” Edgar concluded.

That sense of wanting to present a clean environment has also carried over to the bowling center’s snack bar, which has been a point of emphasis and pride for the new owners.

“We received a 100 percent score from the health department for our first check,” said Edgar proudly. “This bowling alley has never seen an A-plus from the health department. Never. Even my wife took the class on how to be a safe server. By law, the city requires that you have at least one person to have that, and we have four, five including me.

“I keep my eye on everything. I’m on the lookout everyday because you never know when the health department is going to come in. So in a way I am the health department. I make my rounds every day making sure everything is in place. And clean. That’s my main objective, to have a clean and safe environment for everyone because my family comes in here, so I want that place to be nice.”

The focus on a family-friendly environment is extremely important to the Justavinos who base everything they do — including charging $2.75 per game for children 12 and under — on making sure families want to come to the bowling center.

To that end, they’ve installed a few coin-operated attractions, like a basketball game, and have plans to install more in the future. They’ve also discontinued liquor sales to help send the message that the bowling alley is not a bar. And they’re working on renovating what was formerly the bar area, to make it a room where families can host events.

“I’d still like to have a portion of that room for birthday parties,” said Kelley. “It’s not used a lot now. We want it always to be family-oriented and safe.”

Adding to the family-friendly feeling inside the bowling center is the recent addition of a mural along the eastern interior wall that was painted by local artist, 79-year-old Jo Ann Knox.

Although they are putting an emphasis on families, the Justavinos also realize that the bowling center’s future success also hinges on catering to serious bowlers. That is why they have a strict policy banning food and drinks in certain areas.

“(Food and drinks are) separated from the pit and the approach and that’s important,” said Kelley. “The serious bowlers all spend money on their shoes and if you get cake or something on your shoes, they’re ruined. Then the next thing, for safety, you’re going to slip. We’ve got a lot more separation than (other bowling centers).”

The Justavinos have also seen to it that Bowl-A-Rama maintains a pro shop where customers can buy everything from balls and shoes, to bags, wrist braces, and everything else a bowler might need. They also have all the equipment necessary to clean and customize balls.

“Right now we are limited in drilling balls because we’ve lost that person, but we’re looking for another one to do that,” said Kelley. “We have all the equipment for drilling, and we’ve got an oil extractor that will take the oil out of professional balls. We’re just minus a person. It’s so specialized it’s hard to find the right people that have that kind of background or interest, but we’ll find them.”

While they are sill on the lookout for a technician and still have to finish some additional little things, like completion of the party room, the Justavinos want everyone to know that the Bowl-A-Rama is open and ready for business.

“The facility is ready to take as many bowlers as we can get,” Edgar said.

Currently the bowling center, which the Justavinos hope to rechristen Albany Bowl-A-Rama/Albany Strikers, is open 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 2 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Women’s fall/winter league play will start later this month and men’s fall/winter play will begin in September. Each Friday night the alley hosts a no-tap tournament with a weekly jackpot, which the Justavinos say has become very popular.

The bowling center also hosts late night fun on Friday and Saturday as the alley transforms for Cosmic Bowling.

“Something else people like, no matter their age, is what we call Cosmic Bowling,” said Kelley. “On Friday, it starts a little later because there’s a tournament, but at 10-10:30 the music goes on and the black lights, and lights that swirl around the room, come on. And then Saturday that starts about 9.”

To help encourage traffic the Justavinos said they have tried to be as straight forward as possible with their prices. The center only charges by the game, which is currently $4 per person, per game, or $2.50 for league bowlers. There is no hourly lane rental fee. Shoe rental is $5.

The couple also plans to occasionally run different specials, something they had success with this summer when they ran a special allowing unlimited bowling on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for $10 plus shoe rental. That special will continue through the end of August.

For more information about the Albany Bowl-A-Rama call (229) 405-1712 or visit Albany Bowl-A-Rama/Strikers on Facebook.