Jesse LaRose of Gladstone eyes up the pins at UP North Lanes while celebrating his brother’s birthday last month. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
ESCANABA — The sole bowling alley in Delta County, now called UP North Lanes, passed to new ownership this summer.
For more than 60 years, it operated as Bowl-a-Rama. The business still hosts a variety of leagues, offers reasonably-priced entertainment and has a bar and kitchen.
UP North Lanes and Sports Bar owner Albert Danz Jr. has made a few changes since he took over the business in August, and has plans for more. Having worked at Bowl-a-Rama for 15 years, the past seven as manager, Danz bought the place in order to make sure Escanaba’s bowling alley could be the best it could be. He changed the name to reflect the transition and to let people know the destination has entered a new era.
Results of scores for bowling leagues at the Bowl-a-Rama, in addition to advertisements for a 16-lane facility called the same at 2510 First Ave. N. in Escanaba, began being published in the Daily Press in 1960. However, it appears a reconstruction of the place happened a few years later, as a contract with builders was entered in 1963 and a grand opening was announced in 1964. The owner of Bowl-a-Rama was Delta Recreation Corp., made up of board members and shareholders R. James Bichler, Clayton C. Tanguay and Bernard St. Onge.
Several parties involved in the construction of the bowling alley in the early ’60s went to court for a yearslong battle when the general contractor, Peninsula Construction Co. of Iron Mountain, filed for bankruptcy after the building’s construction and failed to pay numerous subcontractors.
Sixty-plus-year-old machinery reracks bowling pins behind the scenes at UP North Lanes in Escanaba, formerly Bowl-a-Rama. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
But during that debacle and afterwards, business at the bowling alley grew. A Flat Rock man named Ken Smith bowled the first 300 in January 1964. Several leagues made use of the lanes. A retail shop for bowling supplies was on premises, and a lounge provided limited food and drinks.
In 1970, a Greyhound bus station was built onto the west side of the Bowl-a-Rama, and the bowling alley’s facilities were made accessible to bus passengers through connecting interior doors.
The parking lot was paved later in 1970.
After a bowling alley in Gladstone closed, another eight lanes were added, bringing the Bowl-a-Rama from 16 lanes to 24.
In 1996, Ken and Cherie Lueneburg and Bryan and Lynn Burak purchased the bowling alley from Tanguay and St. Onge, who reportedly were brothers-in-law.
Vehicles fill the parking lot Saturday at UP North Lanes in Escanaba. The sign will probably be changed within the next year to reflect the new name and ownership. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Before purchasing the Bowl-a-Rama, and for a couple years after, the Lueneburgs and Buraks also operated the Holiday Bowl per a lease. That place was at 2625 Ludington St. in Escanaba, now occupied by Riverside Ford.
After the Bowl-a-Rama passed to the Lueneburgs and Buraks in the ’90s, the second set of owners remodeled the place.
“Basically, we redid the whole bar, changed it around a little bit. We put in the kitchen … fryer and pizza oven,” Ken said.
They had also installed automated golf machines, which remained for about five years.
Ken proudly reported that the Bowl-a-Rama was integral in getting bowling teams started at Upper Peninsula high schools. A tournament bringing together five-member teams from high schools in Escanaba, Menominee, Kingsford, Houghton, Marquette, Ishpeming, Norway and Baraga took place at the Bowl-a-Rama in December 1996.
At UP North Lanes in Escanaba, Eric LaPalm releases a bowling ball down lane 24 while Allison Peltin watches before taking her own turn on the neighboring lane. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Another major event at the local business was the Wisconsin State men’s senior bowling tournament, Ken said — as he recalled, Bowl-a-Rama hosted more than 200 teams at that tournament in 2006.
Cyber bowling — with blacklights and deals — was introduced under the ownership of the Lueneburgs and Buraks. They also started a bumper league for children, another legacy that continues for kids as young as age 3.
A nonprofit league — in which a portion of proceeds raised goes toward the winning team’s charity of choice — began about 2009 and remains operating at the Escanaba bowling alley today.
A trophy supply business also began at the Bowl-a-Rama, managed by Ken. That facet did not transfer to Danz; Ken still works there but is looking to sell it.
The space that had been occupied by the Greyhound station was converted into rental units now occupied by Bark Boulevard Pet Salon, Bloom Speech Therapy Services and The Golden Hour Studio.
This clipping from the Jan. 25, 1974, Daily Press shows that the Escanaba bowling alley’s involvement with youth has been going on for decades.
Danz, who became a Bowl-a-Rama employee in 2011, has been bowling since a very young age and has experience working at other bowling alleys.
Originally from Addison, Ill., a Chicago suburb, Danz worked at a bowling alley in the Chicago area years ago, one called Red Carpet Lanes in Green Bay, and managed High Five Lanes in Munising for a few years before coming to Escanaba.
Having now lived in Esky for 20 years, Danz “wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said.
When the previous owners were ready to retire after nearly 30 years in the business, Danz stepped up to purchase it, with the sale finalized Aug. 1.
“I just didn’t want to see it going to anybody or a corporation — who knows what they would have done with it,” Danz said. “I’ve been here so long, and I’ve been in the bowling business pretty much all my life, so I didn’t want to see it possibly go away.”
Nicholas LaRose sends a bowling ball down after one last standing pin, hoping for a spare. (R. R. Branstrom)
But instead of keeping it the same, Danz has plans for making the old bowling alley better.
Early changes include revamping the kitchen with new equipment, making the menu available on DoorDash, adding three new TVs and obtaining an NFL Ticket so people can watch football and hockey games in the bar, getting a loan to fix the building’s leaky roof, hiring additional staff and changing the name.
Though the sign out front still says “Bowl-a-Rama,” Danz hopes to replace it in the spring so people can more visibly tell UP North Lanes and Sports Bar is under new ownership.
He’s considering calling the bar portion “The 11th Frame.”
Some things will stay the same — for instance, the homemade pizza that people have gotten to know and love in recent years will continue with the same recipe.
The place offers a surprisingly thorough food menu for a bowling alley. Appetizers, loaded tater tots, burgers, steak sandwiches, wings and quesadillas come out of the kitchen, available for enjoying in or taking out.
The kitchen opens at 11:30 a.m. every day. Food is served until 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursday, until 11:30 p.m. Saturdays and until 6 p.m. Sundays.
The bowling alley and bar are open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 11:30 to 1 a.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.
Up North Lanes has leagues for a variety of ages and skill levels.
“We accommodate every age group,” Danz said. And even if people are terrible bowlers, the game and socializing are entertaining. “If you go out, you have fun.”
Birthday parties, company Christmas parties and other events utilize the bowling alley as well. Packages include bowling time, pizza and pop.
“It’s very affordable for families,” Danz said.
May through September is the busiest time, he reported. Within a handful of years, he’d like expand the bar to bring in cornhole — an activity usually relegated to outdoors in the summertime.
More immediate improvements will include an expansion to the arcade. Danz has already purchased new arcade games to be installed.
He also would like to take out the railings and tables to bring in more modern seating and counters near the lanes.
Danz intends to move the pro shop to a larger area that now is an office and expand upon the product selection.
UP North Lanes and Sports Bar may be reached at 906-786-6500. Some information may be found at 906bowling.com.
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R. R. Branstrom can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 140, or rbranstrom@dailypress.net.
