Thunderbird Bowl gets new name and look

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This article was published 16/04/2019 (2462 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thunderbird Bowl will soon be gone, but there’s no reason to mourn.

The longtime Brandon institution will rise again with a new name and a whole new look.

“We’re super excited about it,” said Trevor Peters who, along with his sister, Debbie Nadon, bought the business from their parents in 1993.

TBirds Food Fun Games will be transformed into an entertainment centre, with a dramatically new layout to complement the changes to the bowling facility, which moved from downtown to Currie Boulevard in south Brandon in 2001.

“We’re turning the page, and there’s going to be a new chapter in Thunderbird Bowl,” Peters said.

Huggy’s Family Restaurant on the lower level will be closed as of April 29 to make room for new gaming attractions, Peters said.

“We are still going to have some seating in there,” he said, adding the upper-level sports bar has 100 seats and another 100 can be seated in the bowling centre.

As well, the sports bar’s hours will be extended, opening at 11 a.m. daily instead of 4 p.m.

“We’ve done some extensive research over the last three or four years, and the bowling-centre business has gone from the typical bowling-centre box to include full-service restaurants and to include different attractions, as well,” Peters said.

With that in mind, he and Nadon came up with a plan for the business, which will follow the model of a bowling entertainment centre, or BEC, as opposed to a family entertainment centre, which requires much larger square footage.

The lower level will feature high-end redemption video gaming, in which players can redeem prizes in the Prize Store.

That is part of Phase 1 — a renovation project that will begin at the end of April and is expected to continue until mid- to late June, Peters said.

Phase 2 involves remodelling the bowling concourse, including a new facade, an automatic scoring system and new furnishings. There will also be a new snack bar and bar.

The final phase will see a new kids’ play-structure space, either remodelled or with new attractions. Those plans have yet to be finalized.

The entire project is expected to be finished by the end of summer.

“It’s an aggressive timeline, but something that’s achievable, we believe,” Peters said, adding the bowling facility will remain open throughout the remodelling.

“Essentially, it’s business as usual.”

Brandon-based Ben Wiebe Construction has been hired as the general contractor while local designer Lisa Quiring assisted Peters and Nadon with the design aspects.

“It’s just a better use of space,” said Peters, explaining the reason for updating the bowling facility, which has operated in Brandon since 1973.

“It’ll bring a different customer and dynamic to the facility,” he said. “It just gives them more diversification when they get here, rather than just going to the bowling centre, going to the bowling alley. Now it’s going to be more of an entertainment centre, where you have a couple of different attractions that you can participate in while you’re here and spend more time.”

Peters said loyal patrons of Huggy’s restaurant haven’t been forgotten.

While Huggy’s will no longer exist, TBirds will still honour the restaurant’s loyal patrons’ rewards.

As well, he said, the menu will remain primarily the same, with new, trendier items included, along with seating on the lower level where patrons can still order food.

The bowling centre employs approximately 50 full- and part-time staff. That is not expected to change, except some jobs could be “repurposed,” Peters said.

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