Colonial Lanes and its attached sports bar CUBS’ A.C. were created in 1964 by ten families, including that of the legendary Michigan radio voice Bob Ufer. The other nine families gradually dropped out, and now it is solely owned by Ufer’s four children (in case you were wondering, since its inception it has always been one business entity, but you can bowl at Colonial without going into Cubs, and vice versa).
The Ufers thought it was long overdue for a facelift, and it’s getting one, inside and out, overseen by architect John Janviriya, designer of darkly hip nightspots like the Black Pearl and Melange Bistro & Wine Bar. Phase one is done, but you have to rent it to see the fancy new conference/party room and six lanes that were sequestered from the other thirty-four and refinished in high style, with spacious wraparound banquette seating while you bowl, and state-of-the-art audio visual. (The room and the luxury lanes can be rented separately or as a package.) The restrooms have been completed too. “The women’s you could move into,” says VP and general manager Brian Conway. “It’s the size of a small New York apartment.”
Work has begun on another party space with pool tables and shuffleboard. The final phase will bring a new look for the public lanes and Cubs. What’s not changing? The chef Robert McGeorge, who’s been there for twenty years and caters all the private events, making anything from prime rib to sushi, says Conway. He’s equally well respected for not bringing, say, sushi to the Cubs menu. There, he sticks to burgers, wings, and other pub grub.
