BROOKLYN, MI – After more than 50 years in business, Brooklyn Lanes will permanently close its doors.
The bowling center, 11522 Brooklyn Road, closed March 15 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and is still not legally allowed to open. The lack of a reopening date at what should be the start of the busiest time of the year is too big of a financial hit to stay open, business partner Eric Hall said.
“We don’t even have a guideline coming saying, ‘Hey we’ll open on this particular date,’” Hall said. “The last one that we’ve seen is July 5.”
Closing their doors was the last thing they wanted, but the owners got to the point where they had no choice, business partner Diana Raab said.
“Yes, it was a financial decision, but in the end, we would give every cent we had to keep it going,” she said. “We didn’t want to let the people in the community down. This is something our community relied on. Parents see it as a safe place … to go locally instead of 30 minutes in either direction.”
While it’s easy to blame Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for not allowing bowling centers to reopen, Hall said he believes she is making the best decisions possible with the information available.
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“This is a pandemic that none of us could have known,” Hall said. “It’s a situation that we never could have (forecast). … I’ve said repeatedly, I think the things our government has done and our governor in particular has done, has saved people’s lives. At the same time, I think there’s things she has done that’s cost people businesses. ... I wouldn’t want to make a decision that would cost people their life or make a decision that would cost someone their business. I trust the fact that they are trying to do the best thing they can for the people that are in front of them.”
Raab pointed out that bowling centers have the space to easily social distance and the sport naturally has distance. Other businesses have opened safely, she said.
“There’s some of those things that go unheard,” Hall said. “I understand there’s a lot going on, so I’m not going to say that (Whitmer’s) been lazy for not doing it. I just wish there was a way for the right words to get in front of the right people because I think it could change things for our industry as a whole.”
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Brooklyn Lanes originally opened in its current location in 1967, Jackson Citizen Patriot archives show. George and Alice Staub opened the business so George didn’t have to commute to Detroit for his job every day.
The business was a family affair, with their son Bob Staub taking over after his parents retired. The 10 lanes kept Bob Staub busy and he would regularly work 90-hour weeks, archives said.
In the early 1980s, Brooklyn Lanes hosted 23 different bowling leagues. In 1982, Bob Staub bought the business’ first computer to help keep averages and standings for the leagues.
Guy Aldrich and Dave Sentle bought Brooklyn Lanes in 1996 after Bob Staub and his wife, Louis, retired to Florida, archives said. The original owner, 88-year-old Alice Staub, was still bowling at Brooklyn Lanes.
Hall and his family bought Brooklyn Lanes in 2008 and Raab joined as a business partner in 2012.
“For us we were never a large bar, the bar was not the focus, food was not the focus,” Raab said. “Our focus was the sport and bringing people together.”
They tried to hang on as long as the could, but it hit the point where they had to let go and permanently close, she said.
“We put off publicly saying what was happening for a while,” Raab said. “Neither of us wanted to say the words publicly. It’s been a landslide of support. … We’re just right now taking it one day at a time, that’s all we can do.”
They’re receiving calls, messages and Facebook comments wishing them well and checking in on them. They’ve heard from people who had their first job there as teenagers, people who grew up bowling there and former students they’ve coached.
“It’s been very emotional,” Raab said. “We know in our hearts the difference we’re making but it’s been something different to hear it, to just have people say, ‘We’ve noticed. We knew all along.’”
Hall and Raab are varsity bowling coaches at Columbia Central High School and they plan to keep coaching, whenever MSHAA allows it. Bowling and Brooklyn Lanes provided a space for kids who didn’t fit in other places. While Brooklyn Lanes is closing, the sport will still be there, Raab said.
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“We’re not walking away from our coaching,” Hall said. “That is a huge part of, not just our business, but a huge part of our lives.”
Watching students grow up and become better people is the best part of coaching, Raab said. They’ve helped students with their homework, helped give them confidence and self-respect and helped bring together kids who would normally never talk to each other.
“It’s just overwhelming right now,” Raab said. “I’m glad we had that impact.”
Hall and Raab aren’t sure what comes next for them. They’re in talks to sell the building and property, but it’s unclear what will happen at this point, Raab said.
Brooklyn Lanes will be open to the public for people to pick-up their equipment and say goodbye, from 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 2, and noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5.
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