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Folsom Lake Bowl owner Strikes back
Longtime family-owned business undeterred by competition
Robert Scott/The Telegraph
Dan Dreher, co-owner and manager of Folsom Lake Bowl, said his 30-year family-owned business has made recent indoor renovations and is planning a major facelift for the front of the building.
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Folsom Lake Bowl co-owner and manager Dan Dreher doesn’t care how many Strikes the competition rolls at him.
Dreher believes his 30-year family-owned business will prevail when the final score is tallied in the battle for the bowling buck in Folsom.
And with a proposed Strikes bowling alley – already a big hit in Rocklin – preparing the paperwork for an invasion of Folsom territory in the old Ralphs building on Blue Ravine Boulevard, Dreher knows it’s game on.
“Everybody’s comparing us to Strikes as old versus new,” Dreher said. “But Folsom Lake Bowl isn’t some old supermarket. We have everything and more than what Strikes is going to have.”
In the last five years, Folsom Lake Bowl has upgraded nearly everything inside its 50-year-old building, adding new synthetic lanes and approaches, a state-of-the-art $30,000 lane oil machine, completely remodeled bathrooms, a new roof, new carpet, more than 20 plasma TVs and a new sound system.
“My guess is that Strikes will bring in refurbished equipment,” Dreher said. “And then they will put it in an old building that was built as a grocery store.”
Obviously Dreher has paid close attention to the buzz created by the proposed Strikes. One of the biggest complaints he’s heard about Folsom Lake Bowl is that it looks old and rundown from a street-side view on East Bidwell.
Not for long, he said. The Dreher family already has the blueprints drawn up for a half-million dollar outside renovation, scheduled to be completed early next year.
“We have a bowling alley here now,” Dreher said. “And when we are done with the renovations, it’s going to be a whole new bowling alley.”
Dreher points out other advantages he believes his bowling alley boasts when compared to the proposed competition, starting with price. Folsom Lake Bowl charges $2 per game weekdays and $3.50 per game during peak hours, weekends and holidays. There is also a summer special from 10 a.m. to noon weekdays at $1 per game.
The Strikes in Rocklin charges $2.50 per game for weekday bowling and up to $7 per game during peak hours.
“We’re going to maintain our lower prices – guaranteed,” Dreher said.
There has been heavy opposition to the proposed location for the Strikes from some residents in the nearby neighborhood of Briggs Ranch. Most of their concerns center on Strikes bar, which in Rocklin includes a daily "Happy Hour" and weekend live entertainment.
“The definition of 'Happy Hour' is to serve as much alcohol to as many people as possible,” said concerned Folsom resident John Alaimo in a letter to The Telegraph. “The time for this ‘fun, family affair’ is usually between 4-7 p.m. Then everybody drives home. Nice, isn’t it?”
Dreher points out that one of multiple bars at the Strikes in Rocklin is right in the middle of the bowling alleys.
“We’re more of a family entertainment center than Strikes is. We don’t have a bar in the middle of our bowling alley,” Dreher said. “We don’t even have a ‘Happy Hour.’”
Dreher stressed that the Folsom Lake bar/casino is completely separated from the bowling alley, and he said that’s by design.
“The bar is not even visible from the bowling lanes,” Dreher said. “We even have dark tinted glass on the door for the entrance to the bar so kids can’t stand outside and look in.”
To put an exclamation point on their conviction that the bowling area at Folsom Lake Bowl is truly a family entertainment center, the Drehers in ’06 banned alcoholic beverages on the lanes from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
“A lot of people were disappointed when we first did it,” Dreher said. “But we felt it was an important decision for family entertainment.”
Dreher said Folsom Lake Bowl is community oriented, citing $10,000 a year in charitable fundraisers and donations of more than $50,000 to local schools. The Drehers are also members of the Folsom Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce.
On July 27, the Drehers will open the doors at Folsom Lake Bowl for a full day of free bowling to anybody who lives or works in Folsom.
“We know a lot of people in town haven’t walked in our doors in a couple of years,” Dreher said. “We want them to see what we’ve done to the place and what we’re planning to do in the near future.”
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Strikes would be great for Folsom and competition is healthy, Not to mention if you have not visited Strikes then you should before you make any decision or form an opinion. This place will be great for Folsom, a breath of fresh air, and for those who live close wont have to drive to the Lake Bowl. One thing for sure is that there is no Casino "gambling" at Strikes and for that they can call themselves a Family Entertainment Center.
My family and I love going to the Folsom Lake Bowl! I have been to strikes for a birthday party for my nephews friend and I can't believe some people have said Strikes is more of a family bowling alley. They have two bars completely open to all ages with one of them in the middle of the bowling alley, not to mention outrageous prices! How is it a family center when your paying good money to have a birthday party and someone is getting drunk at the bar 20 feet away in plain sight? If the Folsom Lake Bowl didn't have Sports Bar & Casino in their name I wouldn't know they had a sports bar & casino. That's because it's completely separate from where my family goes to bowl. Every bowling alley has a bar, I just like it that our local bowling alley keeps it separate from the family experience!
We are looking forward to the remodel, it looks like the Lake Bowl will be the nicest bowling alley in town regardless if strikes comes or not. I will be there on July 27th for some Free Bowling!
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I have been going to Lake Bowl for many years and to see the changes that they have made is amazing, and now they are giving the building a facelift - that is great! I don't see what all the hype for Strikes is about, do people realize that Roseville Strikes is a brand new building? Here they would be going into a old ran down grocery store. The two are not comparable. Nothing says family entertainment like "Happy Hour" with a bar 20 feet away from where my daughter is bowling! Strikes is a no go for me and my family.
Jack Daniel's Drink Specials & Buffalo Wing Specials! Free Entry if you receive this email!
Friday July 11th 9pm Malibu Rum Party!
Saturday July 12th 9pm Three Olives Party
Thursday July 17th 7pm Monster Jams Competition
Friday July 18th 9pm Blue moon Party
Saturday July 19th 9pm Jager Party
www.folsomlakebowl.com
Upcoming family events at Lake Bowl. Check out the website and the Pimp & Ho Party. This is usually fun for the entire family. Police, drunks, topless girls. Rundown Grocery store? Have you seen the tin roof that leaks with buckets to catch it, the potholes that flood every winter, and the air conditioning that doesnt work. Not to mention the goth looking teens that hang out at the pool tables. The reason that there is no more alcohol on the lanes is due to multiple fines and violations from ABC as seen below. The license could be in jeopardy if it happened again. This article is an insult to my intelligence. It looks like Tim needs to do a little more homework next time.
File#: 49868 Status: ACT Date: Dist: 23 Action: ACCUSATION
REG#: 07065075 Date: 20-FEB-07 ABC Cleared: Y Date: 20-APR-07 Recvd: 20-FEB-07 Agency: ABC -NORTHERN DIVISION
Name/Prem: FOLSOM RECREATION CORP 511 E BIDWELL ST FOLSOM CA 95630 3401 0084.03
DBA /Mail: LAKE BOWL
License Types: 47 MI: Y Status: ACT Date: Expires: 31-AUG-07 Dups: 0 Term: 12
Charges: GROUNDS FOR ACTION
GAMBLING
POSS/POSS FOR SALE OF A CONTAMINATED A/B
ADULTERATED BOTTLES
Proceedings: WAIVER DECISION 27-FEB-07 Status: COMPLETE 20-APR-07 Decision: SUSPENDED POIC: 6000
On 2-27-07 w, 5-day suspension, beginning date stayed pursuant to 23095. 4-20-07 POIC, $6,000.00, 5 days all stayed.
Mr. Folsom,
You are misleading on your accusations and comments, this is a fact. My name is Dan Dreher and I'm one of the owners of Folsom Lake Bowl Sports Bar & Casino. The sports bar parties that you listed are in fact parties that we have and they are a ton of fun for Adults! Every Bowling alley I have ever been to and trust me I've been to a lot, have some kind of bar inside. Whether it be a brewery, lounge, sports bar, or just plain old bar, they have something. We pride ourselves that we are not your average bowling alley bar. There are a lot of people in this town that truly enjoy going out to a fun sports bar and having a great time. The difference is that our above 21 entertainment is completely separate from the bowling alley, while strikes has their bars open for all ages. The FLB parties are enjoyed by adults only, and only marketed to adults. As pointed out in the article, we treat both the Sports Bar & Casino as separate businesses from the bowling alley, while Strikes treats their adult entertainment and family entertainment alike. Maybe you should do some research of your own and see what kind of parties Strikes has, as pointed out by a folsom resident recently. http://events.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&eventID=321274.12284
Ask any local Folsom Police officer in town about the local bars in Folsom and who has problems and who doesn't, you will find out that we have a great relationship with the Folsom Police department because we don't have problems.
Upcoming Family events? How about the Free bowling community day coming up Sunday July 27th. Our glow bowling every Friday & Saturday nights, which we have a great group of kids that come regularly. Our Junior leagues, as well as our junior adult league. The alcohol ban on Friday & Saturday nights was not a demand or even a recommendation from any law enforcement agency, it was strictly a decision the owners made to create a better family atmosphere during glow bowling. If we wanted to change this policy we could at any time, we just choose not to.
I don't know how long it's been since you've been into our facility but we have invested over $25,000 in roof upgrades over the last 5 years, it has been a long time since we've had any problems with leaks inside our business! If you come out to our community free bowling day coming up you will see all of our plans for our parking lot, landscaping, outside remodel and our future upgrades inside.
If you want to see how the Strikes owners re-invest in their business, go check out fireside lanes in Citrus Heights. Not the worst bowling alley I've ever seen, but they do not re-invest in their business like we do. I bet not many people know that the owners of Strikes still own fireside lanes in Citrus Heights, why don't they invest in that business, you would think they care about the community enough to put their money into that bowling alley?
Our liquor license is not in jeopardy, our sports bar is well run, and run completely separate from our bowling alley. We provide the best entertainment for all ages and we keep this entertainment separate from each other. We have the best prices for open bowling, leagues, birthday parties, company parties and fundraisers.
We as owners are members of this community and we have been re-investing in our business and our community for the last 30 years, so please with all do respect get your facts straight before you decide to publicly criticize us! We as a family work very hard to stay on the top of our industry and we are proud of our business and what we do for our community. If you have something to say and you want to be heard please feel free to do something that can make a difference and send me an email at dan@folsomlakebowl.com
We look forward to seeing all members of the Folsom Community at our Free Bowling & Shoes, Give back to the community day coming up Sunday July 27th all day long!
Best Regards,
Dreher family