To prepare for a grand reopening of a beloved bowling alley, the new co-owners of Frederick Lanes hosted a friends and family night. The pair who often bowled at AMF Frederick Lanes before it closed were determined to keep the community gathering space open. “It’s kind of weird to have done all this work for so many months and now have it have people in the lanes,” said Kassandra Ahlin, one of the new owners. “There’s a satisfaction that so many people have come up to us saying ‘thank you’, and that part is nice,” added fellow co-owner Mason Tikl. Before welcoming the public back to the lanes, some much-needed repairs were made to the alley, including to the building’s ceiling. “Many of the ceiling tiles that we were replaced were yellow and not from water stains. That was actually from cigarette stains from when they would smoke in here,” Tikl explained. The building’s facelift also included refreshing the games in the arcade room. “We have a new pinball and other retro kinds of games,” Tikl said. But the pair didn’t have to tackle the task list alone. Many members of the bowling community stepped up to help repair the beloved bowling alley. “So many people just came out to help and didn’t ask for money or slashed their costs,” Tikl said. One of them was Alder Smith, a bowler who often frequented the lanes before the closure in May. “I had got in contact with [Mason], and was doing some plumbing work for him through the bowling alley,” Smith told CTV News. “It’s nice to actually have something where people are having regular leagues and are super kind.” With much anticipation for the broader community to return to the bowling lanes, the new owners say the nostalgia has remained throughout the transformation. “I walked in the building and the smell, it feels like home,” said Ahlin. “We’re really hoping that this will continue to be that sort of space where people can come no matter what age or ability level and just have a good time because that’s what it meant for us.” The official reopening is happening Friday at 3 p.m.
