The former Colonial Lanes has finally completed its two-year transition into an “entertainment center” called Revel & Roll. For more than fifty years, it was an old-style bowling alley and–walled off but under the same roof–a beloved neighborhood bar and grill called CUBS A.C., in uppercase because the C stands for Fritz Crisler, one of the nine original owners, the U for Bob Ufer, and so forth.
Revel & Roll still has bowling. In fact, general manager Brian Conway says “the lanes and the pinsetters are about the only thing that wasn’t upgraded,” because they had received regular attention over the years, including covering the original hardwood lanes with laminate. (“You’d be hard-pressed to find a bowling alley in the country with original wood lanes,” Conway says.) But Revel & Roll also offers billiards, a gaming arcade, and event rooms for private parties. CUBS has lost its separate identity along with the walls that separated it from the lanes, but it has gained a lot of TVs tuned to sports channels and an upgraded menu. You can keep an eye on ESPN while listening to that pleasant knock and spill of pins going down. Soon (perhaps now) the doors to the new outside patio will be thrown open for outside seating and live acoustic music.
A few years ago, Bob Ufer’s children found themselves the sole owners of the aging 1960s enterprise. They brought in Conway to transform it, using a chain of bowling alley/entertainment centers called Lucky Strike as a model–Conway previously managed a Lucky Strike in Novi. He is well aware that nostalgia for disappearing old-style bowling alleys and neighborhood joints has made R&R a difficult pill for some locals to swallow, but nostalgia doesn’t pay the rent. “The bowling industry as a whole has been struggling for years,” he says. In 1995 Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam wrote “Bowling Alone,” an essay that used the decline of bowling leagues as a metaphor for the erosion of civic and social organizations altogether. (He later expanded it into a best-selling book.)
The ownership of Colonial Lanes seems to echo Putnam’s thesis–as the other partners dropped out, the Ufers had found themselves bowling alone. Conway applauds their decision to spend more than $4 million updating the facility. “They could have done a multitude of things with the property,” he points out. “Instead they choose to invest in something that would last for another fifty years.” And they’re not done yet–the parking lot may be resurfaced, and shuffleboard may be added inside. But for now, things have settled down.
The R&R restaurant is in the hands of a new chef, Chris Cachia. Cachia replaced Robert McGeorge, who had been at the helm of CUBS for decades. Conway says McGeorge is greatly missed and refuses to discuss what was reportedly a painful parting. (McGeorge couldn’t be reached for comment.)
The R&R menu includes old favorites like burgers, wings, and McGeorge-invented “twists” (house-made stuffed breadsticks), as well as retro-hip pub grub like French-Canadian poutine, vegan and vegetarian options galore, and some eye-openers like a PB&J burger topped with peanut butter and jelly as well as cheese and bacon. Doesn’t that sound like a novelty meant to get a child to step away from the chicken tenders just once? Conway says actually it’s quite good and adults order it, too.
On a weekday at lunchtime in early April, Revel & Roll was full of young people. “Spring break,” Conway explained. “There are probably forty kids in here” drifting in and out of the restaurant, lanes, and arcade carrying their sandwiches, fries, and drinks with them.
Conway welcomes the younger set but also wants to keep as many longtime customers as he can. “One guy complained there were no lockers,” part of the old-style bowling alley tradition, “so we gave him a locker. He’s the only customer who has one.” Another woman complained that there is no Keno. Alas, she’s been lost: “We thought it sent the wrong message to kids to have gambling here.” But one self-described former CUBS regular brightened when told there might be shuffleboard. “Maybe I’ll pop in there.”
Revel & Roll, 1950 South Industrial, 665-4474. Sun.-Wed. 10 a.m.-midnight, Thurs.-Sat. 10 a.m.-2 a.m. revelandroll.com