Fairway Lanes Prepares for July 16 Reopening After Five-Month Closure

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The smooth roll of bowling balls careening down the lane and the smack of pins tumbling will once again fill Fairway Lanes as the bowling center gears up for a July 16 reopening.

The center has been closed since March 17 and will look very different from what it did before COVID-19 hit the nation five months ago.

Sanitizing stations, plastic partitions, dark lanes and hands-free bathroom fixtures are just some of the updates Fairway Lanes owners and brothers Steve and Tim Turner have been implementing in anticipation of a reopening.

It’s been a long wait, but the return has Steve equally concerned as excited.

“I’m apprehensive,” Steve said. “Concerned. Cautious. A lot of sleepless nights. But ultimately I have a business that needs to start getting back to being operational. I’m very fortunate to have the main bowling center in Lewis County. And we have a large following of people that enjoy this recreation, so I have a strong will to reopen.”

Fairway Lanes is a part of the Washington State Bowling Proprietors Association and Steve has been joining the organization’s weekly Zoom meetings for the last 14 weeks to determine when and how to open safely and in accordance with state and federal health guidelines.

He has been working on implementing social-distancing requirements put forth by the Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

One of the main focuses has been implementing a new policy for rental balls. The alley now has a cleaning regiment where all the house balls will be sanitized. After a customer uses a ball and completes their bowling, they will leave it on the rack when they are done. One of the employees will then retrieve the ball, sanitize it and put it back on the rack for the next use. Same goes for the rental shoes.

A lot of Fairway Lanes’ customer base has their own equipment and they will be welcome to use the sanitization methods on their own equipment. There are now sanitizing stations on each pair of lanes.

Steve has also put up plastic partitions on the counters to separate customers in the bowling areas. Social-distancing stickers have been added to the concourse, as well. The bathroom fixtures have been updated to be hand-free, such as the faucets, and soap and paper towel dispensers. Turner is also considering putting up signage that indicates one person at a time in the restrooms.

“It’s just going to be different,” Steve said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Fairway Lanes will adhere to the phase 3 50-person maximum inside the bowling center, which means only bowlers will be allowed inside, no spectators. Masks will also be required, per Gov. Jay Inslee’s statewide mask mandate.

Social distancing will be implemented on the lanes, as well, by putting a dark lane between the usage lanes.

There are a total of 18 lanes at Fairway Lanes, including 16 in the main center and two which are in a private room. The private two-room package could be used by a family, or a group of people who are all in the same household. The max number for that private room is five per lane, or 10 people total.

The main concourse will likely use odd-numbered lanes, such as one, three, five, seven and so forth, then work backwards as the lanes clear and use the even lanes.

A longstanding bowling courtesy is that one person is allowed on the approach at a time, so that should aid social-distancing, as well.

The Turners, who have been business partners for 31 years, are dealing with their second disaster-like scenario since purchasing Fairway Lanes in 2004; the first being the 2007 flood that closed the bowling alley for eight months due to extensive flooding damage. 

“This disaster here with COVID-19 is more alarming in a lot of ways because there’s a lot of indecision moving forward,” Turner said. “This one here is a lot more difficult to digest. It’s a no-end-in-sight type of situation.”

Steve has been talking with Lewis County commissioner Edna Fund and is worried COVID-19 numbers will increase and the county might slip back into phase two of the state’s four-phase reopening plan, which would prevent the bowling alley from opening up again.

“It’s not a guarantee that we won’t backstep into phase two and close again,” Turner said. “I’m very, very concerned for my business. But I do need to get back in business, not only for my sake but my employees. They’re ready to get back to work.”

Turner is even more worried about someone contracting COVID-19 at his establishment.

“The worst thing in the world would be to have one one of my customers come down with something and they were able to determine it occurred here,” Steve said. “I just want everybody to be cautious and wear face masks. If anybody feels sick they need to stay home. That’s foremost. Working together, I think we can all get through this, hopefully sooner than later.”

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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.