Bowling News
Dallas' first pin toss bar debuts in Design District from bowling pros
The Design District's most popular bowling destination has expanded its arsenal with a new venue: Called BowlGames, it's a new venue from the folks at Bowlounge, located next door at 139 Turtle Creek Blvd., where it's serving up pin toss, a laid-back "sport" that combines football and bowling into one.
This hybrid of bowling and football, in which players throw footballs or other objects at bowling pins stacked on platforms or lanes, is trending up both locally and nationally; there's a concept called Fowling Warehouse opening a location in Plano, and another called Tinman Social opening in Little Elm that will also feature the hybrid sport.
"It's part of a new wave of participatory sports like axe throwing or pickelball that are easy to play, even when you don't have prior experience," says Bowlounge spokesperson Sam Ratliff. "We have a strong following of people who love to bowl at Bowlounge, but this is a little easier to pick up than bowling."
They took over a space that used to be home to Four Seasons Decorations, a custom holiday decorating company that sadly closed in September, after 32 years. Its warehouse-like interior had all the space needed to install the game.
They have a total of 10 "lanes," set up on a football-field type Astroturf grid. Six are available for reservations and four for walk-in groups.
Monday-Thursday, a one-hour lane reservation is $45, with a minimum of four players and maximum of eight required, with an additional $14.50 fee per person. But a single person can also walk in off the street and pay $14.50 to play.
Other games include shuffleboard, foosball, and darts, and there's a swanky lounge and seating area boasts plush leather couches and HDTVs.
"It's the same feel as Bowlounge, but with a more upscale finish out and the opportunity to play a different game," Ratliff says.
A 50-foot bar serves craft cocktails, 23 beers on tap, and wine, available by the bottle or glass, while the food menu has an "elevated tailgating" theme that incorporates many veggie options, as follows:
- charcuterie board
- Wagyu beef burgers
- cauliflower tempura with a hot "Bowl-fallo" sauce
- beet hummus with goat cheese
- beer-battered onion rings
- wings
- four hot dogs including a Chicago-style
- elotes, the real kind on a whole cob of corn
- skewers, in shrimp, chicken tinga, or veggie
Their signature dessert is flan, which comes in choice of three flavors: regular, coconut, or guava, which you can get in a sampler of all three for $20.
This is not to say that there is not still a big audience for bowling.
"Bowlounge has never been busier, and we just renovated the patio, so we have a giant beer garden with umbrellas," Ratliff says. "We have small groups, but it's also become popular as a venue for corporate events and private things like wedding receptions."