“This is not your father’s bowling alley,” says Jupiter Bowl partner Michael Malone.
It’s a phrase that has been used frequently by the team working to pull Summit County’s first bowling center in years together. This Tuesday, Jupiter Bowl will celebrate its Grand Opening with a fundraising event for the National Ability Center.
It’s not your father’s alley because it isn’t an alley at all, says marketing director Susan Spivey. It’s an entertainment center with bowling as the main attraction, she said.
That’s big talk, but the entrance is designed to sell you on that point. Walk in the front door and on the right you’re greeted by original artwork from local painters and on the left there’s a window into the kitchen run by four-star-restaurant veteran chef Jason Brumm. Originally imported to Park City by Butcher’s Chop House, Brumm is now charged with making Jupiter Bowl’s The Lift Grill & Lounge one of Park City’s finest eateries.
That’s right; partner Tony Thomas said, Jupiter Bowl wants to have the best everything not just lanes. Right at the center of the lanes, a billiards and Way area, and an arcade sits the Black Diamond Bar.
Modeled after those the partners found in Las Vegas and other popular tourist spots, the Black Diamond is intended to provide a night-club experience rivaling that of any establishment in the county.
With lanes for all ages, video games, a lounge and bar, and a high-end restaurant, Thomas said he envisions Jupiter Bowl as the place to be at all hours of the day and night for all kinds of people.
From floor to ceiling in every inch of the facility including the restaurants, Jupiter Bowl is designed to visually convince you it’s everything it’s touted to be. Thomas calls the look “retro,” but few places in the country allow patrons to throw an 18-pound ball while standing next to original artwork. It’s all part of the “Wow” factor they want guests to experience, he said.
That’s not mentioning the state-of-the-art audio-visual booth behind the lanes where a Dee Jay can pump out rhythms or the 68-foot projector screen above the pins that can play multiple sporting events, music videos or laser shows all at the same time four-lanes wide each.
Screens that big can only be found in a handful of bowling centers nationwide, Thomas said.
Something that wasn’t originally envisioned but has quickly become apparent is how different ages or interests don’t need to take turns occupying the space.
Spivey said the lay-out has become popular with parents who can sip hard-liquor in the Black Diamond while watching their kids at the arcade and pass quarters to them over the railing. Bowlers can have cocktails served to them lane-side. A special party room has four lanes for exclusive events and other parts of Jupiter Bowl can be separated with a curtain for reserved events.
Throughout the facility are 24 high-definition television screens making it impossible to get bored waiting for a lane to open up.
“At night it just pops,” Spivey said. “It’s phenomenal.”
The Lift Grill & Lounge is separated from the lanes and has a more subdued atmosphere, Spivey said.
The concept behind it was to do something more than just offer food because people expect it at an alley, Malone said.
“It’s core to what we’re doing here,” he added. “Our goal is to go head-to-head with the best restaurants in Park City.”
It will offer Main Street-quality entrees for Kimball Junction prices, he said.
Thomas said all the partners have gone through all phases of adult life in Park City: bachelorhood, married life and parenthood. They know what the community needs.
Malone added that they’ve borrowed from the best of the best of what they’ve seen around the country and believe they’ve created something special for Park City.
Interest in recreational bowling leagues has been intense, Spivey said, so organization has been bumped up from March to shortly after New Year’s Day.