Plano Super Bowl just completed its interior renovations in December, and it’s now “a bowling alley turned bowling boutique,” as group sales manager Stefanie Johnson describes it.
Everything except the bowling lanes and the computer system has been transformed (even the branding and the website), using a $3 million budget. Even every ceiling tile is new. Owner Jamie Brooks knew it was the right time for change, with rising competition in the area and the concern to remain relevant.
The bowling center that opened on K Avenue in 1985 was primarily a place to bowl, but the new PSB is more than that; it has turned into a family entertainment facility. It invites guests to enjoy the Scratch Drafthouse bar, the Scratch Kitchen, an arcade called Redemption, private VIP rooms and the original thrill of bowling. The modern transformation brings an edge to PSB, and its own unique look and feel.
Redemption arcade took the spot of the old bar, which Stefanie referred to as “the dungeon” because it was really dark. The new arcade offers over 30 games. “It’s like a mini Chuck E. Cheese,” Stefanie says, compared to their old arcade, which offered maybe four or five games. Stefanie has worked here for two years as group sales manager and witnessed the transformation.
The Scratch Drafthouse was built in the space taken from the previous front office, front counter and small arcade. A wall of TV screens surrounds guests. There is plenty of light, color and liveliness inside. With 24 beers on tap, it’s an option for just a night out to grab dinner and watch the game, even if you are not in the mood to bowl.
The completely revamped menu offerings, like wagyu burgers and chicken and waffles, are prepared fresh when you order in the Scratch Kitchen. Stefanie recommends the flatbread pizzas, which are cooked in three minutes in the new wood-burning oven. Servers deliver the food to your bowling lane or your table inside the Drafthouse.
Before the renovations, private parties weren’t possible at PSB. With the VIP rooms added in, companies or families and friends have the choice of hosting a party in a personalized environment, with seven private bowling lanes and its own speaker system. “They can do their own thing,” Stefanie says. Lane eight doesn’t exist anymore – that’s where the dividing wall is now.
PSB remained open during renovations, and the new inside look was celebrated with a Plano Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony in October. The plan is to complete the outside renovations by the end of January 2017, weather permitting. They comprise a brick façade and new pillars every 15 feet or so. “It’s really going to scream bowling,” Stefanie says. “Since right now, unless you know we’re here and we’re a bowling center, nothing really about the outside says that.”
Bowling is something family and friends truly experience together, not just sit through like a movie – and that’s what makes it so unique and exciting. At Plano Super Bowl, the goal is to forget your problems for an hour or two. “When we have [guests] in here, we want them to have fun and not be worrying about anything else,” Stefanie says.
“This change is for everyone, it’s what they deserve,” Stefanie reminds us. Plano Super Bowl is a clean, fresh environment that brings together family and fun.
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