The Coast has a new bowling alley and pool hall in Gibsons.
Al Holt has reopened the old Strike Zone in Gibsons Park Plaza after it was closed for about two years.
"I've wanted to reopen my old pool hall for about two years," said Holt, who used to own Sechelt's pool hall Planet Q.
He says he closed that pool hall due to health reasons and has been looking for a new place to open the hall.
"But no one wanted to rent space to a pool hall in Sechelt. So the owners of Gibsons Park Plaza told me to look at Strike Zone, but I said no, it was too big. Then they said if I'd look at it they would work me out a good deal for the place, and that's how I ended up with the bowling alley too," said Holt.
He admits he doesn't have much experience bowling himself but says the bowling lanes are a nice complement to his new pool tables set up on one side of Strike Zone. He hopes the combination of bowling and pool will bring families to his establishment.
"I want this to be a family fun centre," said Holt.
He has been open since July but hasn't done any advertising yet. Still, his lanes have been busy and he is planning to open the pool tables this weekend.
"There's a history to this place. Some kids who were using the pool tables before got out of control. The bowling and pool were separate and there was only one person working, so they couldn't see what was going on in the pool area. I'll have two people there all the time so we will be monitoring what happens. And this is an alcohol-free pool hall and bowling alley," said Holt.
He says his years of running the pool hall in Sechelt will help him weed out any bad apples that might come to cause trouble.
Once the pool tables are open for play this weekend, Holt will be organizing league play and says he has an expert on hand to give pool lessons if anyone wants to step up their game.
"If they want some instruction, we've got Len Homenchuk available, the three-time B.C. snooker champ, to give lessons," Holt said.
Strike Zone is open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, and noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. They are closed Mondays.
The facilities are basically new, having been used only for a short time before the old Strike Zone was closed.
"We've got modern lanes and computer scoring, and we also offer pads for self scoring if people want that instead," said Holt.Strike Zone has Cosmic Bowling by black light on Friday and Saturday nights, which has been a big hit.
Birthday parties have also been booking like mad, said Holt, who offers bowling, shoe rental, a hotdog, pop and chips for $10 per person in a birthday party group.
He has special rates for families too, at $25 an hour per family (up to six people) including shoe rental.
Normally the cost to bowl at Strike Zone is $4 per person each game and $2 each for shoe rental.
Shooting on Holt's new eight ball or nine ball tables costs $12 an hour.
"So the prices are really low and it's something to do inside when the weather gets ugly," said Holt.
For more information on Strike Zone, contact Holt at 604-886-6811.
