Sunset Bowl to close in April

(Editor's Note: This story has been changed since it was originally published to correct the number of bowling allies that will remain within Seattle City Limits when Sunset Bowl closes. There will be three.)

Her coffee with two packets of cream in a simple brown mug tasted the same. The crossword puzzle, worked over with her cronies, was still a challenge. And the company, of course, was good.

Yet this Friday afternoon just didn't feel right for Ruth Shewbridge in the restaurant at Sunset Bowl in Ballard.

Her haunt since 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House, would be closing.

"It has just been a part of my life. It feels like home," said Shewbridge, who has lived in Ballard since 1941.

"I have watched some of the people grow up here."

The 26-lane bowling alley at 1420 N.W. Market St. has been sold to a developer and will close in April after 51 years in business.

As real estate prices have surged, bowling-center owners have had to decide whether to continue to operate in a rapidly changing industry or to sell their lots, which are often in prime spots.

In the 1960s, there were 32 bowling alleys within the city limits, said Greg Olsen, the executive director of the Washington State Bowling Proprietors' Association. When Sunset closes, there will be three.

Avalon Ballard LLC, an entity linked to a major apartment developer, paid $13.2 million for Sunset Bowl, according to King County records. Sunset Bowl's owners sold another alley they owned -- Leilani Lanes -- two years ago to a developer for $6.2 million.

Employees at Sunset Bowl said they did not know what would happen to the property. But the Web site www.avalonballard.com directs visitors to the Web site of AvalonBay Communities Inc. AvalonBay owns 13 apartment communities in the Puget Sound area and has one other under construction in Bellevue.

Sunset Bowl is a quirky mixture of old and new. It is open 24 hours and has modern electronic scoring, yet still sells hot, roasted cashews in the bar for $1.25.

Manager Verl Lowry, who has worked at the bowling alley for 31 years, said the "land is exceeding the value of the business, I guess."

He said employees were told Thursday that the business, which includes a restaurant and a small arcade, was going to be sold and word trickled out Friday to customers. All 50 employees -- some of whom have worked for decades at the alley -- will lose their jobs.

"I think it's sad," said Jack Workman, who has washed dishes at Sunset Bowl for 42 years. "I don't know what I will do. I might retire."

Workman, who also has filled in as a cook, a bartender and a waiter, boasts that he once bowled a 279. He remembers when coffee was a nickel, a 10-ounce beer went for 35 cents, and bowlers kept score by pencil. He's also known for making a coleslaw so good that customers clamor for him to make extra before he goes on vacation.

The bowling alley is about 100 yards from a Denny's Restaurant, another local landmark that has been shuttered.

"We are losing the last gathering place in Ballard. There are not that many places where you can go where you don't have to dress up to hang out," said Jesse Lewandowski, 36, a regular customer.

Lowry said that business had been fine, although it had changed. Mirroring a larger trend in the bowling business, Lowry said that fewer league bowlers were coming to Sunset, while open bowling and company functions were making up an increasing percentage of the business. More than 2,000 people bowl at Sunset each week.

On Friday afternoon, all the lanes were full, and a few customers waited more than 30 minutes to get a lane.

At the front desk, longtime employee Jean Waldal, who has worked for 37 years at Sunset Bowl and Leilani Lanes, lamented the loss and said five other bowling alleys have closed in North Seattle during her tenure.

		Grant M. Haller / P-I
	Dishwasher Jack Workman, who has worked at Sunset Bowl for 42 years, says he might retire after the bowling alley closes in April.

"Eventually, everything is just going to be apartments. I feel bad because there will not be a bowling center in North Seattle," she said.

Once Sunset closes, bowlers will have five centers within the city -- West Seattle Bowl, AMF Imperial Lanes, Skyway Park Bowl & Casino, Roxbury Lanes and Magic Lanes.

But Ron Davenport, the general manager at Roxbury Lanes and Magic Lanes, said that bowlers tend to patronize alleys near their homes, so it was unclear if his alleys would see any uptick in visitors.

"We're just fine the way we are for the time being," he said, adding that Magic Lanes and Roxbury Lanes had no plans to close.