Catherine Springman, our Sales Manager reports on the hot, new venue in Bellevue:
Last night, I attended the grand opening of Lucky Strike Lanes in downtown Bellevue, WA. The lines were long when they first opened at 7 pm, but the people watching was great. This posh bowling alley in Lincoln Square (across from high end shopping mall, Bellevue Square) will surely be popular with the Microsoft and Eddie Bauer crowds working just upstairs in the office tower. It feels like a night club with a forty-foot bar and plush contemporary lounge area, state-of-the-art bowling lanes in a separate area, two billiards tables in yet another small area, as well as a huge VIP Lounge for private parties, with its own bar and four bowling lanes. Huge video screens run films at the end of the bowling lanes, over the pins, which my party of bowlers found distracting. This night, they were showing a nature film with lots of wild animals eating other wild animals. Hmmm, foreshadowing of what was to come for all the 20 and 30-somethings cruising the crowd? P.S. The video system is customizable.
Much nicer than the Denver, CO venue, Lucky Strike Bellevue actually opened to the public last weekend. But they pulled out all the stops for this grand opening with media, City VIP’s (the Mayor and the President of the Bellevue Downtown Association, among others), event and hospitality industry guests and assorted beautiful people. They flew in experienced staff from their Hollywood location, including a dj who spun tunes from the permanent booth (but no dance floor), and hired models in tiny black dresses. The service and the food were great. The appetizers were a hearty size, and they had some imaginative nods at the stereotypical bowling fare, like fried macaroni and cheese balls. Our favorite were the bowls of self-serve molten brownies with whip cream! We hung out in the VIP room, where they served us giant drinks, brought us brand-new bowling shoes and taught us the high-tech automatic score machine. This baby even measures the speed at which you throw your ball! The balls – they were the wildest bowling balls I’ve ever seen – were psychedelic, transparent, and crazy colors. This is not your papa’s bowling alley!
The drawbacks I saw were that the areas are very separate, so non-bowlers cannot sit at the bar or in the lounge area and watch the bowlers or the billiards. There isn’t much room for spectators in either of those areas. Again, the videos above the bowling lanes are distracting, all guests must be 21 years of age or older after 8:00 pm, and it is pricey. On weekends, bowling costs $65-75 per person per hour between 5 pm and 2:00 am. Shoe rental is $4.50 and billiards are $14 per hour after 5:00 pm. On the plus side, the pricing and the dress code should keep out the “riff raff” and keep the venue upscale and nicely maintained. Parties of 8-24 guests run $55-70 per person, including drinks, food, bowling and shoes, depending on the package. Private parties are available for groups of 25+. For more details and contact information, visit http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/
Last night, I attended the grand opening of Lucky Strike Lanes in downtown Bellevue, WA. The lines were long when they first opened at 7 pm, but the people watching was great. This posh bowling alley in Lincoln Square (across from high end shopping mall, Bellevue Square) will surely be popular with the Microsoft and Eddie Bauer crowds working just upstairs in the office tower. It feels like a night club with a forty-foot bar and plush contemporary lounge area, state-of-the-art bowling lanes in a separate area, two billiards tables in yet another small area, as well as a huge VIP Lounge for private parties, with its own bar and four bowling lanes. Huge video screens run films at the end of the bowling lanes, over the pins, which my party of bowlers found distracting. This night, they were showing a nature film with lots of wild animals eating other wild animals. Hmmm, foreshadowing of what was to come for all the 20 and 30-somethings cruising the crowd? P.S. The video system is customizable.
Much nicer than the Denver, CO venue, Lucky Strike Bellevue actually opened to the public last weekend. But they pulled out all the stops for this grand opening with media, City VIP’s (the Mayor and the President of the Bellevue Downtown Association, among others), event and hospitality industry guests and assorted beautiful people. They flew in experienced staff from their Hollywood location, including a dj who spun tunes from the permanent booth (but no dance floor), and hired models in tiny black dresses. The service and the food were great. The appetizers were a hearty size, and they had some imaginative nods at the stereotypical bowling fare, like fried macaroni and cheese balls. Our favorite were the bowls of self-serve molten brownies with whip cream! We hung out in the VIP room, where they served us giant drinks, brought us brand-new bowling shoes and taught us the high-tech automatic score machine. This baby even measures the speed at which you throw your ball! The balls – they were the wildest bowling balls I’ve ever seen – were psychedelic, transparent, and crazy colors. This is not your papa’s bowling alley!
The drawbacks I saw were that the areas are very separate, so non-bowlers cannot sit at the bar or in the lounge area and watch the bowlers or the billiards. There isn’t much room for spectators in either of those areas. Again, the videos above the bowling lanes are distracting, all guests must be 21 years of age or older after 8:00 pm, and it is pricey. On weekends, bowling costs $65-75 per person per hour between 5 pm and 2:00 am. Shoe rental is $4.50 and billiards are $14 per hour after 5:00 pm. On the plus side, the pricing and the dress code should keep out the “riff raff” and keep the venue upscale and nicely maintained. Parties of 8-24 guests run $55-70 per person, including drinks, food, bowling and shoes, depending on the package. Private parties are available for groups of 25+. For more details and contact information, visit http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/
1 comment:
I really had a good time!
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