I haven't been there in years. Do they still try to overcharge almost every single person that bowls there by telling them that they did some practice bowls before starting their game? Because that got a little annoying when I used to bowl there.

10/16/2008 11:10:08 AM

i recently had an altercation there with the old man because i said "here is my money for me and that girl over there in this outfit and this color hair. we had two games each." then when she comes up later to pay he tries to tell her she needs to pay for me and for her, and almost did except she was sure that i had told her i paid. he then tries this scam on another couple.

the dude is a big douche, but the woman at the bar is really sweet.

10/16/2008 11:37:36 AM

Quote :

"Sooo; we've got different people, with different reliable sources, saying completely different things. So wtf is the real deal. Are they going to close down for a little while and renovate the whole place? or stay open and renovate the restaurant & lanes at different times?"

?????????

10/20/2008 10:19:50 PM

So when's the TWW bowl-a-thon

10/24/2008 3:16:33 PM

Quote :

"We used to ride the Wolfline up there when we were drunk and bored. Fuck the new bowling alleys, going to this one was like stepping straight into a scene of The Big Lebowski. It was awesome. "Fuck it dude. Let's go bowling.""

IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE LIKE A SCENE FROM THE BIG LEBOWSKI SON YOU'D HAVE TO BE ON LSD OR MARIJUANA YOU FUCKING METRO SON.

DRUNK SON?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME SON? FUCKING DRUNK SON?

WHAT A WASTE OF FUCKING TIME YOU METRO ASS MOTHERFUCK SON.

10/24/2008 3:31:06 PM

the dude is all about the drinking of the caucasians

10/24/2008 3:33:31 PM

I had a bowling class in there with a teacher named Kidd that always wore shorts no matter what the tempature

John Stockon style shorts; I saw a lot of dude's thighs

Anyway he was alright but he bitched at us for drinking in class even though we were 21 and bought the beers there

Also there was a girl in that class that I was really close to banging but it turned out she had a weird birthmark on her stomach so I didn't

10/24/2008 3:35:00 PM

FUCKING GROSS DUDE.

SUSPEND.

10/24/2008 3:36:04 PM

i mean, drinking in class is drinking in class, whether the classroom happens to have a bar or not

with that said, if drinking is encouraged that's another matter

see: half the english classes i had my last three years

10/24/2008 3:36:46 PM

Haha I was in Kidd's class as well.

^^ Will you be attending the TWW bowl-a-thon (date TBD) Mr. Saab or are you too METRO?

STEP OUT DA BAR SON

10/24/2008 3:38:33 PM

WHAT BOWL-A-THON SON?

10/24/2008 3:39:10 PM

The one I just thought up 5 minutes ago

10/24/2008 3:40:20 PM

i'm in

10/24/2008 3:40:44 PM

WHEN IS THIS BOWL-A-THON SON?

10/24/2008 3:50:33 PM

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1321327.html

Quote :

"RALEIGH - The charm of Western Lanes has long resided in its worn-out wood, scuffed-up balls and -- of course -- the bar counter stripped bare by thousands of sliding Schlitz cans. So when word leaked out about new management, renovations and stepped-up marketing at the Hillsborough Street landmark, purists let out a gasp. Rumors flew about electronic scoreboards and other mundane modern trappings. But the new management -- a trio of 20-somethings from Raleigh -- want to preserve much of the treasured bowling alley's scruffy allure. "We're kind of going after the casual bowler who might not be as picky about lane quality," said Blaine Smith, 28. "A face-lift inside is what we're going for." So, the Brunswick Bowling crown emblems above the lanes will stay. Ditto for the turquoise and white benches and other trappings of the late 1950s -- which account for much of Western Lanes' decor. One casualty, though, will be the Schlitz-scarred bar. By her own reckoning, Theresa Fenner has flung about 200,000 cans down that yellow Formica in 25 years of bartending at Western Lanes, enough to carve a white streak down the middle. She tells a customer Wednesday night, "All I've got is Schlitz, PBR, Icehouse, Miller ... " And the customer answers back, "Anything but a Miller." Too frou-frou for Western Lanes. Still, the counter and kitchen equipment all date to roughly 1959, so the restaurant, which has served generations of N.C. State University students, will shut down today for an update. The lanes will stay open. Smith said the mainstays -- Fenner and Cathy Richards, who has waited tables for more than 40 years, even when the restaurant was segregated and she was barred from eating there -- can stay when the place reopens. But whether they will is uncertain. The only certainty is the counter's fate: Fenner will be taking it home once it is extracted. "I wrecked it," she said. "I ought to have it." Everyone associated with Western Lanes knows the place's age translates to a priceless kitsch factor that draws people in. Still, said partner Jimmy Poole, the alley wasn't profitable before they came on and might not survive without some changes. So the carpeting -- frayed down to the concrete in spots and stained black in many others -- will be ripped out and replaced. But the wooden lanes, the only ones of their kind in Raleigh, will stay, at least for now. "They're about shot," said Don Sullivan, who can't recall exactly when he started working there, but knows it's been about 40 years. "You can't resurface them. There's not enough wood to resurface." The place is hopelessly behind on many codes, too. Smith said compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be a priority because, right now, a person in a wheelchair can't reach the restrooms or restaurant. But the casual lounge lizard or beer-can bowler will still appreciate the inside, Smith promises. "I don't want it to be an everyday bowling alley," he said, noting his partners agree. "We all went to Broughton [High School]. I went to State and actually took the bowling class here when I was in college." Smith said the new management hasn't bought Western yet and is still working on a deal. So much of the establishment's future is still up in the air. But talk to Sullivan, who could probably gauge your bowling shoe size with a quick glance at your feet, and he'll explain the change is welcome. He looks forward to seeing Western as it was -- not a faded replica of the past, but a clean and shining place of fun. You won't get a Schlitz slid your way anymore. But, everyone hopes, you still might sense the presence of long-gone bowlers who drank them. "

12/5/2008 8:55:19 AM

oh shit. i graduated high school with the guys who bought the place.

[Edited on December 5, 2008 at 10:30 AM. Reason : ]

12/5/2008 10:28:52 AM

oh shit. i graduated from the high school of the guys who bought the place.

[Edited on December 5, 2008 at 11:40 AM. Reason : ]

12/5/2008 11:38:21 AM

That place is one of the last remnants of a vanished world. Why are they altering it? I went there so many times when I was a kid. My sister had a birthday party there. Why the hell would you rip out that bar? Why get rid of 50-year-old kitchen equipment if it's working fine? That place is for people who truly appreciate and respect history and the aesthetic of a time long gone.

And might I add, FUCK THE A.D.A.! People in wheelchairs have plenty of other places they can go bowling or eat cheap food. Don't go fucking up the alley's frozen-in-time appeal with ugly ramps and accessibility signs and shit.

12/5/2008 11:59:48 AM

someone just set himself up for a really fun car accident and promotional ads from the scooter store

12/5/2008 12:03:20 PM

Quote :

"That place is one of the last remnants of a vanished world. Why are they altering it? "

Exactly! Bulldoze it and put up something profitable.

12/5/2008 12:10:24 PM

^^ ahahahaha

^ signed

12/5/2008 12:12:51 PM

^^ I wouldn't mind if they just added some computerized scoring things. The classic look of the tech would make it unique, but the computers would broaden the appeal.

12/5/2008 12:14:16 PM

Quote :

"That place is one of the last remnants of a vanished world. Why are they altering it?"

...






...

Quote :

"Still, said partner Jimmy Poole, the alley wasn't profitable before they came on and might not survive without some changes."

12/5/2008 12:16:40 PM

i saw they put tv's in there everywhere

and they have bands now too?

8/2/2009 6:42:39 PM

i remember going there for the 4.99 shrimp basket lunch special back in the day.

time marches on.

8/2/2009 6:49:07 PM

i used to go to there with suamme1 and wolfnuke way back in the day and get hammered for like $15

8/2/2009 6:52:24 PM

i went there on my 21st birthday, well up until midnight the night before.

8/2/2009 6:56:00 PM

I was there last night with ThePeter and some other friends. They have daily specials now.

The dude behind the counter was taking requests for songs and playing them on youtube through the sound system. Also, he had old kung-fu movies on the TVs they have up now. It got kinda packed for the summer though.

We had a good time.

8/2/2009 7:09:30 PM