The co-owners of Big Z’s Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes — formerly the Bowlwinkles Bowling Alley — from left, Rob Kane, Kylen Anderson and Tom Anderson smile in the front entrance of the revamped bowling alley on Tuesday, Jan. 31. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

LAKE PLACID — When husband-and-wife team Tom and Kylen Anderson started looking for a new business venture in Lake Placid about a year ago, the former Bowlwinkles building at 2750 Main St. was right up their alley. Now, the Andersons and local business partner Rob Kane — general manager of the Great Adirondack Brewing Company — are on the brink of officially opening the revamped bowling alley as “Big Z’s Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes.”

The Andersons, of Vestal, have always loved Lake Placid. They visited with their son Isak for years, and they finally made the leap and purchased a home here about a year ago. They have a few businesses across the country — in Tennessee and Pennsylvania — and when they started looking around Lake Placid for an opportunity, they found that the Bowlwinkles Bowling Alley was for sale. Tom said they wanted to keep the bowling alley alive for the community — all they needed was a local business partner. That’s when Bowlwinkles owner Sonja Barney introduced them to Kane, who also happened to be looking for a new business venture.

“Then all of a sudden we had the makings of a team,” Tom said.

The Andersons and Kane checked out the property together on the last weekend of January 2022, and Tom said plans to purchase the bowling alley fell into place within a couple of weeks.

–

Eight renovated bowling lanes are seen at Big Z's Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes in Lake Placid on Tuesday, Jan. 31. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

All in the name

–

The co-owners of Lake Placid Lanes wanted to revamp the eight-lane bowling alley and turn it into a place for both locals and tourists to spend quality time with family and friends — not to just drink at a bar or sit down for a quick bite at a restaurant. The Andersons and Kane wanted to bring games, food and live music to people in a setting where they could enjoy each other’s company in multiple ways. That’s why the partners decided to feature “hangout” in their business name — to welcome people to spend hours at the lanes.

That’s the opposite of a restaurant’s typical business model, Kane said. At places like Great Adirondack Brewing Company at the opposite end of Main Street next to the Palace Theatre, the goal is to “turn and burn” tables as quickly as possible to get more business. While there will be drinks and food from salads to build-your-own-burgers at Lake Placid Lanes, board games — like the classic wooden brick stacking game Jenga — also adorn restaurant tables. There are dart boards, pool tables, an old-school shuffleboard, foosball, rod hockey and a classic punching bag game spread across the building. There are nearly 20 televisions that will be showing different sporting events.

There are also three garage doors that could be opened up in summer months to allow live music to flow out of the building as people enjoy the warm Lake Placid nights. Rooms in the lanes can be rented out for events like birthday parties. There’s even a sports simulator game that’s used by pros like Tiger Woods. Tom said they’ve thought about welcome dart leagues and bowling teams, too.

Sign at Big Z’s Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes — formerly the Bowlwinkles Bowling Alley (News photo — Lauren Yates)

“It’s not just about food, and it’s not just about drinking,” Kylen said. “It’s about coming together, spending time together and having fun together.”

The lanes are filled with games and experiences the Andersons’ son Isak — who Tom called “Big Z” — would have loved. Isak, 14, died in 2015 of a heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. The lanes are named “Big Z’s Hangout” in honor of him.

Kylen said she wished that more people knew about HCM. The disease, which is often genetic, can go unmanifested for someone’s entire life. Isak was a “normal kid,” Tom said — a lacrosse goalie. But when Isak hit puberty, the gene for HCM manifested itself. He started experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath before he died of the disease.

“It’s the sort of thing that, if people were more aware, you might know the signs,” Kylen said.

Isak loved everything about Lake Placid — snow, winter and ice hockey. It was his favorite vacation spot, Tom said, and he could quote every line from the movie “Miracle on Ice.” The Andersons have pictures of Isak at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort when he was 3 years old during his first trip to this village. It was Christmas, and Kylen still remembers that Christmas night, when Isak laid down on the sidewalk and made a snow angel.

Rob Kane, a co-owner of Big Z's Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes, makes a slap shot while playing a sports simulation game at the lanes on Tuesday, Jan. 31. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

–

For the community, by the community

–

Kylen said she’s excited for the community to enjoy Lake Placid Lanes. They’ve had a soft opening for the last couple of weeks, and Tom said they’ve gotten a “great” response from the community so far. People are saying they can’t wait for the lanes to officially open.

And locals will appreciate that many of the alley’s new features — the duct work, the tables and wooden structures — are locally sourced and manufactured. The wooden tables were made by Billy Walton of Experience Outdoors in Lake Placid, the bartop is made of pine from a mill in Bloomingdale and the cherry used for the bowling shoe rental area was crafted by Lake Placid Construction. The natural wooden look of the bowling alley is a stark contrast to the typical plastic-filled lanes.

“We wanted to change the vision on bowling,” Kane said.

Big Z’s Hangout at Lake Placid Lanes will have its grand opening from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11.

To learn more about the lanes, visit bigzsatlakeplacidlanes.com.