Danville Bowl, a community fixture, closing after 64 years
DANVILLE — Danville Bowl, originally opened in 1961, will close its doors Monday as locals get their last chance to say goodbye to the storied lanes.
“It feels like a wake,” said Joe Sperske, a Livermore resident who first came to the bowling alley as a teenager in the 1990s. He was bowling with his nephew, 12-year-old Scout Sperske, and brother, Jason Sperske, one last time. “We’re losing a family member with this place.”
Beloved as a timeless institution that hosted children’s birthday parties, bowling leagues, late-night drunken antics and countless memories, the family-owned business will be replaced by a yet–to-be-disclosed development – the property was sold by a trust.
Those who have been coming long enough say there is a certain smell that only an old bowling alley has — a peculiar but adored aroma from another generation.
The spot flourished when people still smoked cigarettes indoors and there was no freeway in town.
“This is kind of a shock,” Joe Sperske said. “Part of me feels like if I feel this sad about it closing, why didn’t I do something when it was still around to promote it? I feel partly responsible.”
Gone are the days of 50-cent games and the era of “The Big Lebowski,” the late 90s film that “made bowling cool,” Joe said. He said being at Danville Bowl is “like walking around in a time capsule.”
“It’s like home. … The place looks exactly the same. Nothing’s changed.” said Adam Alling, a local businessman who has been haunting the lanes since he was a kid. “Being from here, it’s like a piece of us is going away.”
Kelly Carroll, a Walnut Creek resident who grew up in Pleasanton, said it’s sad to see the business leave because it was a “reasonably priced, family-friendly activity” she could bring her 3-year-old son, Samuel, to enjoy.
“I fear that families are getting priced out now,” Carrol said. “It’s sad. These are places where I have memories and it would have been great for my kids to make memories there too. But I know they’ll make new ones.”
Justin Oertel, whose father, Mike, bought the business in 1994, said he knew this day would come after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated their bottom line for 13 months, during which time the shop remained closed as it was hemorrhaging money. Oertel’s father currently lives in Idaho, where he operates another bowling alley.
“It was tough. We were hit the hardest in this industry,” Oertel said.
Danville Bowl made headlines as it defied mask mandates to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Oertel said it was a way to keep the business afloat during the toughest financial spell in their family’s 30 years of ownership.
“We were just trying to get the business to stay open,” he said.
Now, Tri-Valley residents have flocked in droves to pay their respects and blast one last ball down the slick wooden alley in the dimly lit center one more time. Oertel, born in 1993, reminisced about the first 13 birthdays he spent with family there.
He fondly remembers the years of $2 Taco Tuesdays, where the house cook, known as Jose, would show up early to hand make salsas and fry crispy, hard shell ground beef tacos that would often sell out alongside the other chicken, pastor and asada tacos available from his personal recipes.
Oertel learned all the jobs in the house, from porter to mechanic, cashier to cook, and everything in between. He said his favorite job was always bartending, where he’d get to be more “hands-on” with the dozens of regulars he spent his life getting to know, often seven days a week.
Several of his regulars he’s seen get married, start families over the years and return with children of their own to bowl and laugh and make memories. Other, older patrons he’s seen die off, never to return for the beer he’s left for them on the bartop out of respect.
Oertel’s next endeavor, he said, will be trying his hand at law enforcement. Most of his friends are cops or sheriffs, he said, and now he wants to join the ranks himself.
“We do love the industry. It’s a lot of good people involved,” Oertel said.
When asked if he’d consider opening another bowling alley somewhere down the line, he said “nothing’s out of the question. You never know where you’re going to be in 10 or 15 years.”
Danville Mayor Renee Morgan said in an interview Friday she doesn’t know what will become of the land beneath the bowling alley, but she remembers birthday parties and neighborhood gatherings there just like everyone else. She noted the spot has been zoned for housing — something the area is in short supply of. But she said she hopes whatever happens, she wants Danville to keep its small town charm that the alley brought to 200 Boone Court.
“Danville Bowl has been a fixture in Danville for over 60 years. It’s a place where a lot of memories have been made and friendships have been forged,” Morgan said. “I’d like to keep (Danville) exactly how I want to envision it, which is that small town atmosphere with that high quality of life. Danville is a unique gem and I’d definitely like to keep it that way.”