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Feature Article, May 2006
Lucky Strike A Hit For Retail Centers
Lucky Strike Lanes is looking to pin down the competition with a unique concept and an aggressive expansion plan.
Kevin Jeselnik
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The restaurant floor in the Orange County, California, Lucky Strike.
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When Steven Foster and his wife and business partner, Gillian, were exploring opportunities for a new entertainment concept, the entrepreneurs settled on an interesting activity around which they could create a new venue: bowling. To the uninitiated, this might sound odd, but bowling has long been established as one of the most popular activities in the country. The idea behind the Fosters’ newest brainchild, Lucky Strike Lanes, was to package bowling — an interactive, group-oriented activit — with the trappings of a high-end restaurant/lounge.
“The idea was to present bowling in a way it was never presented before, namely in an imaginative, intimate, hospitality driven environment,” Foster explains. “Historically, bowling has been league-dominated, and we thought it was a wonderful experience that was ideally suited for parties and groups, and that really had never been packaged and presented in a conceptually complete environment, with good food, a warm atmosphere and a high level of service.”
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A view from outside of the Lucky Strike Lanes at The Block at Orange development in Orange County, California.
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To establish Lucky Strike Lanes as more than a bowling alley, as the new wave of “bowling lounges,” as Foster notes, the first location was opened in 2003 at Hollywood & Highland, a mixed-use development in the heart of Hollywood, California. The venue was well received by the local and celebrity communities alike, and new locations were soon opened at The Block at Orange in Orange County, California, and in Boston. Currently, there are 13 Lucky Strike Lanes open, from Hollywood to St. Louis to Louisville, Kentucky, and another six are scheduled to open this year. The company is focusing on entering major urban markets across the nation, with plans to open up new locations in California, Texas, Florida and New York among other markets during the next 2 years. Beyond 2006, Los Angeles-based Lucky Strike hopes to open an average of eight new locations per year for the next 3 to 4 years.
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The restaurant floor and bar at the Hollywood Lucky Strike Lanes.
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Each location varies — the concept’s footprint ranges from approximately 17,000 to 35,000 square feet but skews to the smaller end of the spectrum. Since opening the first location, the design team has worked on the layout to enable the company to enter smaller sites without sacrificing any of the components. According to Scott Schuster, senior vice president with Blatteis & Schnur, Lucky Strike Lanes’ real estate consultant, the expansion plans are gaining steam now that designs have enabled the concept to fit into spaces as small as 17,000 square feet.
“We’ve been able to really fine-tune the layout, and we can now work very successfully and very comfortably in 17,000 to 25,000 square feet,” Schuster explains. “Now that we are able to look at some of these smaller opportunities, it is opening up these larger markets for us. As much as we would like to have 25,000 square feet in Atlanta, it can be difficult. Knowing that we can go in to a 17,000-square-foot space and still give the full-blown Lucky Strike presentation gives us a lot of excitement and confidence to really start ramping up the expansion.” And the company’s “full-blown” presentation is impressive. Each location has between 12 and 22 bowling lanes, a 40-foot bar, a restaurant, lounge areas and rooms that can be reserved for private parties.
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The exterior of the Lucky Strike Lanes in Chicago. At approximately 35,000 square feet, this location is significantly larger than the typical Lucky Strike footprint.
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The menu was designed and is prepared by Los Angeles-based caterer Along Came Mary, and features a “twist on the casual American menu, with high-quality, imaginative small plates that are ideal for sharing,” Foster says. Many of the locations’ sport bars and tables are made from hardwood salvaged from the lanes of older bowling alleys. One of the most striking amenities is the audio/visual system installed in each location. Lucky Strike uses state-of-the-art technology such as LCD screens at the end of each lane to display unique, varied visual art throughout its venues. “We have an amazing audio/visual exhibition; our bar A/V package alone could be $500,000,” Foster says. “I think that is a big part of the ambiance.” The screens display a constantly changing selection of art, from up-and-coming unknowns to the well-known work of established modern artists. Damon Kidwell/71 Design Team serves as curator and director for Lucky Strike’s art shows and visual presentations; the team was also responsible for creating the brand’s corporate identity.
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The lounge and bar area at the Chicago Lucky Strike Lanes.
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The unique mix of modern, trendy amenities and classic activities has led Lucky Strike to quickly develop a cachet of cool, whether it’s hosting an NBA All Star celebration at its Denver location or a celebrity birthday party in Hollywood. The venue is not just for adults and primetime; kids and families are a major customer during the daytime hours. “That’s the wonderful thing about it; it’s not so hip that it’s too hip,” Foster says. “It’s accessible; it’s a warm environment.” The projects have been well received in each new market, which has encouraged the company to move forward in its aggressive expansion.
“There are many, many markets we haven’t penetrated,” Schuster says. “I don’t think there will be any issues with expanding more and more in the next 3 to 5 years.” The ideal markets are high-population urban cities that have a demographic base ranging from 500,000 to more than 1 million.
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A large flat-screen monitor displays unique visual art at the end of each lane of every Lucky Strike venue.
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The key component Lucky Strike and Blatteis & Schnur look for when searching for new sites is the presence of synergistic retail and entertainment offerings. “We are very comfortable with synergistic projects; we like theaters, we like restaurants at various price points,” Schuster adds. “That being said, we’re also not afraid to go it alone if we can find the right location.”
That flexibility allows Lucky Strike to consider various layouts and sites, from pre-existing space in multi-tenant centers to freestanding buildings. Schuster says that the existing locations represent an even mix of the different types of properties Lucky Strike can inhabit, from ground-up retail developments to retrofitted stand-alone sites.
There are Lucky Strike Lanes in a collection of The Mills Corporation’s properties and the company is seeking to develop relationships with more of the country’s premier retail developers, such as Simon Property Group and Westfield. “We have lots of good relationships with many developers; we probably get 10 unsolicited requests a week from various developers,” Foster says. “We are selecting [new markets] very carefully at this point.”
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Steven Foster incorporated the famous Hollywood sign from the old Hollywood Star Lanes, a former Hollywood entertainment landmark destination, into the interior design of Lucky Strike’s Hollywood, California, location.
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Recently, other bowling lounges have made their way to market on the heels of Lucky Strike’s success. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Foster should certainly be blushing. But what has him excited is the potential of his newest venture. “It’s a very exciting concept, really,” he says. “I’ve been in the business for 25 years and I feel this is the best brand that I have ever been involved with. We’ve combined that core human need to get out and socialize with this high-level creative environment and it’s this wonderful, dynamic experience.”
“Lucky Strike is the proven operator out there,” Schuster explains. “This is a very well thought out design and well built out restaurant and bar; they’re not sparing any expenses. The end result has been a nice marriage of the initial visions of what the project should be.”
“People say, ‘Well, bowling is hot again.’ I don’t know if it’s hot or not, but it’s a wonderful experience,” Foster concludes. “Lucky Strike has created something brand new, this kind of artistic environment that is really a bowling boutique, and that is what’s hot.”
©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
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