Wisconsin Bowling Alleys Adapt to Changing Times
Number of bowling alleys in U.S. has decreased by 32% since 2005.
Generations Lanes in Eldorado, Wisconsin has been owned by the same family for three generations over 70 years. Photo courtesy Jeremy Brenner
Bowlers have been knocking down pins at Jeremy Brenner’s family bowling alley in Fond du Lac County for over 70 years.
But families can find fun in a lot more places in 2025 than they could in 1955. Generations Lanes in Eldorado has had to keep up and become more than just a place for 10 frames and a beer.
“If we had to just survive on bowling, there would have to be some significant changes to our hours,” Brenner told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “In the last year or two, it has been the first time since I’ve owned it where the food sales totaled more than the bar and bowling sales combined.”
The Bowling Centers Association of Wisconsin told “Wisconsin Today” that the state has more total bowling centers than any other in the country.
But the market research firm IBISWorld found the number of bowling alleys in the United States has decreased 32 percent since 2005.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some larger corporations have bought into the bowling industry, acquiring alleys and converting them into entertainment centers with a wider array of offerings like axe throwing, minigolf and arcades.
In 2022, the Virginia-based corporation Bowlero bought JB’s on 41 in Milwaukee, Sabre Lanes in Menasha and Super Bowl Family Entertainment Center in Appleton. The company also runs AMF West Lanes in Milwaukee and Bowlero Wauwatosa among its over 350 locations in North America.
Those changes in the greater Milwaukee area hit close to home for Jaelynn Knaebe, who runs Sunset Bowl with her family in Waukesha.
She told “Wisconsin Today” she has watched other local bowling alleys like Fracaro’s Lanes and AMF Waukesha close in recent years. She knows she has to keep adapting to stay ahead.
“There’s always something newer and greater that is coming out every single year,” Knaebe said. “There definitely is a lot of pressure, but I hope to kind of keep with it.”
It’s all about providing a space for family fun where the community can gather.
“We have a lot of groups that we work with,” Knaebe said. “We have a very big partnership with a lot of the special needs group homes in the area. We run a lot of leagues, a lot of Special Olympics events.”
Up at Generations Lanes in Eldorado, Brenner is taking a similar approach in his town of 1,500.
Generations Lanes in Eldorado has changed names as it changed hands in the family, but it remains a mainstay in the small Fond Du Lac County town. Photo courtesy Jeremy Brenner
His alley has been the hangout spot for the Laconia High School girls basketball program that is the defending state champion and has made three straight runs to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state title game.
It has helped Generations Lanes get back to its roots. The building was originally a dance hall with basketball courts inside, then an ice cream parlor and barber shop before Brenner’s grandfather Otto Zahn bought it and converted it into a bowling alley in 1952.
The business changed a lot over the years, but its role as a community center has not.
Long-running Wisconsin bowling alleys adapt offerings to keep up with changing industry was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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