Welcome back to Vernon Lanes: Historic Louisville bowling alley reopens, with a new spin
More than six years after it closed, bowling is back on the lanes of Butchertown's famed Vernon Lanes.
The remodeled bowling alley, though, which opens Wednesday, March 16, following nearly a year of renovations, has changed a bit since 2015.
Eight lanes still stretch through the venue, though general manager Bruce Jarrett noted the pinsetters behind the wall have been restored ahead of the opening. The ceiling has been opened to show off the overhead trestles and the facility's new roof, which Jarrett said was the first step of the reopening process, and the lanes have been resurfaced. An HVAC unit has been installed as well to do away with the window air-conditioning units that once lined the walls.
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It's a "fully modern building," as Jarrett called it, with the bowling lanes sanded, oiled and ready for their first rolls. Competitive bowlers are welcome, he said, but the new business is aimed toward casuals – and the lanes, Jarrett added, aren't the venue's only attraction.
A full-service scratch kitchen is opening on the property as well, he said, and soon a more than 200-seat dining room with a lengthy bar and a stage for concerts and other performances will open on the building's first floor. It'll have a fun menu with quality food, Jarrett said. Think gastropubs, "but it's not snobby."
A little work still needs to take place before that room opens, Jarrett said, but the kitchen is open and ready to serve diners who fill the additional 158 seats upstairs in the meantime.
"Our hope is that the restaurant will drive this business, and people will be coming here to eat and have a great time," he said. "The lanes are obviously fun, but people know about them."
The Vernon Lanes ownership group spent about $1.2 million last February to buy the historic property, which was built in 1876 and once operated as the Delmont Club before being used as a recreational center for nearby St. Joseph Catholic Church for many years after World War I.
Jarrett said the people behind the new concept were influenced by Pinewood Social, a popular Nashville bowling alley, bar and event space that's become a Music City staple since it opened seven years ago. Vernon Lanes' new owners spent the past year renovating the building to get it ready for the new era, fighting shipping delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic to eventually open in time for spring.
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"A lot of people we know have been down to Pinewood Social and said, 'Vernon Lanes would be great to do that sort of thing too,'" Jarrett said. "It's more of a fun bar ... where they have craft cocktails and awesome sandwiches, where you can bowl and then do some other things."
Vernon Lanes has been vacant since 2015, but Jarrett said the iconic building has been a diamond in the rough just waiting to be reopened. And the neighborhood around it is growing as well.
A number of new bars and restaurants have opened in Butchertown in recent years, and the Lynn Family Stadium, which opened less than a mile away in 2020, draws thousands of professional soccer fans to the area on a weekly basis during the season.
Vernon Lanes, Jarrett said, feels like a natural fit along bustling Story Avenue.
"I've been in this neighborhood for over 20 years and watched everything that's changed," he said. "All of our neighbors, we're all excited to be here with them. Mellwood Tavern, Gold Bar, High Horse, Hilltop (Tavern) and Whirling Tiger, I think we make it a nice area to go."
Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Vernon Lanes, iconic Louisville bowling alley, reopens with restaurant
