Published September 2002

Have a (bowling) ball
at next company party

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

It’s the holiday season and you’re at the annual company party. Lights are flashing; music is playing; and Larry from accounting just got booted from the limbo contest with some good-natured ribbing from the disc jockey.

Suddenly, you see a colleague pump her fist in the air and yell, “Strike!”

No, this is not a labor-relations fiasco in the making, but one of the benefits of a bowling-alley shindig: you get to eat, dance — and enjoy some friendly competition (not to mention laughs) on the bowling lanes.

“It’s more than just coming out and bowling; it’s truly a party experience,” said Paul Kreins, general manager of Brunswick Majestic Lanes in Lynnwood.

Julie Estep, promotions manager for Tyee Lanes Restaurant & Lounge in Everett, agrees.

“They can dance; they can bowl and ... karaoke. That’s all in one package — one fun-filled package,” she said. For a little over a year now, Tyee has been promoting its banquet facilities and bowling lanes for corporate use — with positive results.

“We can hold up to around 125 people, and we are looking at opening another room that can hold up to about 40,” she said.

At Tyee, clients pay according to the banquet pricing, depending on what they choose to have the bowling alley’s catering staff prepare, whether it’s the Italian buffet, the orange-glazed, cheese-stuffed chicken breast served over rice pilaf or party packages of fruit, cheese and meat trays.

Everything is included in the price, Estep said, the bowling, the food, the dancing.

“It’s worked out fabulously,” she said. “... Once (companies) have done it, they’re usually rebooking for next year.”

While Brunswick has been offering its facilities, which can hold up to 200 people, for corporate events since opening 12 years ago, those events have become a much bigger part of the bowling alley’s business the past couple of years, Kreins said.

“We’ve realized we’re a great venue for corporate events: You don’t have to worry about weather, and anybody of any ability can at least bowl,” he said, especially if they choose to use bowling lane bumpers, which prevent the oh-so-embarrassing gutter ball.

Along with cosmic bowling — bowling with the music, lights and DJ — and a game room, Brunswick offers in-house catering for companies’ convenience.

“We can go from pizza and hot dogs to prime rib; it just depends on what the group wants,” Kreins said, adding that clients can hire their own caterer if they so choose.

Event prices at Brunswick vary depending on the time of the party and the food involved, he said, with off-peak hours costing less than those popular Friday nights in December, and a menu of chips and dips costing less than a prime-rib dinner.

All it takes is a call to get the ball rolling, so to speak. Both Kreins and Estep recommend booking early for the holidays, their busiest season for corporate events.

“The further in advance, the more chance they have of getting those times that are more desirable,” Kreins said. “Typically, the phone starts ringing a lot at the beginning of September.”

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