Want to Buy a Bowling Alley? Lawrenceville’s Legendary Arsenal Bowl is For Sale
The owners of the Butler Street bowling alley and entertainment venue want to go out on top before they retire.
June 3, 2021
PHOTOS BY SEAN COLLIER
Hollywood favorite Tom Hanks has rolled a bowling ball there. So has Bryan Cranston and so too, through the years, has most of Pittsburgh.
Now, the iconic Arsenal Bowl in Lawrenceville, established in 1938, has hit the market for the first time. According to Pittsburgh-based Specialty Group, which has listed the venue for sale for $595,000, its owners are ready to retire.
“After a record year in 2019, Arsenal Bowl survived the pandemic and remains a vital part of one of the hottest neighborhoods in the U.S.,” a statement from the group says. “Post-pandemic business is quickly ramping up and ownership wants to go out on top.”
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The bowling alley, in operation since 1938, survived the pandemic after a record-setting year in 2019, according to the Specialty Group, the real estate group tasked with finding a buyer.
Pennsylvania’s pandemic-related business restrictions have been slowly loosening for months, and all capacity limits expired Monday. Terri Sokoloff, of Specialty Group, said business has already been picking up at the alley and “ownership wants to go out on top.”
Paul Buncher has owned Arsenal Bowl since 1991. Sokoloff wrote in a release that as the second-generation ownership has neared retirement, they are looking for someone else to take over.
In a 2007 profile of Lawrenceville’s Butler Street, the New York Times called the retro bowling alley as a place “where old-school bowling vibe meets nightclub atmosphere.” That old-school feel is complemented by more modern upgrades – pin setters, 22 lanes, a full-service bar and live entertainment space, according to the listing.