On this adventure Zenning with Zay & I explore the Abandoned All Star Bowl!
Bowling alleys are dying everywhere but even more so in Toronto. With soaring real estate prices & equally high taxes, large facilities such as bowling alleys are feeling i in their pockets. Profits are slim making them easy targets for developers. Such was the case for All Star Bowl in Scarborough. Forgotten Productions invited my friend Carlo Paolozza that there was a fresh location to check out so we all met & explored an abandoned strip club & hotel however due to deep snow & ice we were unable to get inside the bowling alley. A week later Zenning with Zay & I got word that the snow & ice had melted enough that the door could open! So the two of us headed down to have a look for ourselves & we were not disappointed!
Around 2012 the tired bowling alley had a face lift by two sisters with big dreams of turning it into not only a bowling centre, but also host corporate events, after parties & even wedding receptions. They worked hard at marketing through social media, digital media & even Groupon to promote there upscale entertainment venue. The 24 lane venue offers a private level suite, Canadian contemporary art, catering, lounge, bowling, music & billiards.
It all sounded pretty good until I started reading some of the online reviews.
-"I hated this place. The food is way overpriced. You'll get 5 onion rings and a drink for about $8."
-"I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT GIVE THIS PLACE YOUR BUSINESS! THE MANAGER WAS EXTREMELY RUDE AND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE."
-"I have never left a negative review before, but I am so disappointed that you just ripped of my kids & their friends!!"
-"What a joke. They will never see me or anyone I know give them business. The manager was rude and a total scammer."
Further I found a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau!
Considering the money & time spent on upgrade & promoting this place I was quite surprised to see the numerous negative reviews. Then I looked into the future of the property where I may have uncovered why things went downhill. "Mattamy Homes is planning 198 new homes to the area, arranged in six blocks in a mix of 48 one-bedroom units, 32 two-bedroom+den units, 60 three-bedroom units, and 58 three-bedroom+den units."
Perhaps the owners didn't care as they knew there would be a huge payout once the property sold. This is obviously speculation but it seemed odd that after pouring what appeared to be their heart & soul into rebranding it, they'd work hard to keep it going!
It was a pretty awesome explore as the power was still on & most of the lights were able to be turned on including the disco balls lights & black lights used for glow in the dark bowling. Plus seeing all the bowling shoes still sitting in their cubbies was pretty surprising & awesome. We were some of the first few people to get inside this place & it showed as there was no vandalism at all!
Although this was a really awesome place to explore I decided to hold off posting anything more than a single photo for 6 months as once it hit social media explorers from around the province converged on this location & flood all social media outlets with it. I don't blame them for it as it really is an amazing place but at that time we were busy exploring abandoned mansions so there was plenty of content to post! Show some support to the people link above & I hope you enjoyed the set!
The red pins were use for a pormotion, if it set as the first pin and you got a strike you got a free game. I don’t remeber them being used in the last years. It’s very true it went downhill the last couple of years. The staff were great but the owner who also owned Caddys was a piece of work. Thanks for the Video.