By Cary Shuman
Sean and Paul Crowley want the residents of Lynn to know that the Lynnway Sportscenter is alive and well and open for bowling seven days a week.
The Crowleys were responding to rumors circulating in the city that Lynnway would be closing its doors. The Crowley family, who has owned and operated the Lynnway bowling house (and sports bar) for decades, assert that those rumors are not true.
Jim Barber’s Lucky Strike Lanes closed Sunday, leaving the city with one candlepin bowling establishment.
“To any bowlers who are accustomed to bowling at Lucky Strike and feel that they want to stay in Lynn and have access to a family-run facility, the Lynnway is the place to go,” said Paul Crowley. “There is no plan to shut down the Lynnway. We are doing exploratory things regarding some other ideas but there is absolutely no plans yet to do anything.”
The Crowleys hope that some of the local leagues will continue to bowl in Lynn.
“We’d love to have Lucky Strike’s leagues come over here,” said Sean Crowley. “We’ve spoken to a couple of the senior leagues and they will be bowling here.”
He said there is availability for full leagues on Sunday evenings, and Monday through Thursday before 6 p.m. and after 8 p.m.
“On Fridays and Saturdays, we generally do Cozmic Bowling,” said Crowley. “We also have the sports bar that we added in 2003 to enhance the bowling experience.”
Paul Crowley said the Lynnway welcomes bowlers of all ages. “It’s a great environment. The Lynnway is a fun place to be. The City League has been bowling here for more than 50 years.”
The late Ron Crowley, Paul and Sean’s father, owned and operated the business in the early 1960s. At one time, Lynn was home to 12 candlepin bowling establishments. All-Star Lanes, located on the Lynnway on the former Building 19 site, had ten-pin and candlepin lanes. Lynn, with its many professional bowlers, was considered the bowling capital of Massachusetts.
Today the Lynnway Sportscenter is the last house standing and Paul and Sean Crowley say, “Come on down and bowl a string or two.”