Jordan Beck | Daily Press Bowl-A-Rama co-owner Ken Lueneburg inspects a pin-setting machine behind his bowling alley’s lanes. Lueneburg said he became a co-owner of the business in January 1996.

ESCANABA — Since the 1960s, people looking to have fun in Escanaba have been able to go to local bowling alley Bowl-A-Rama. Ken Lueneburg, who co-owns the business, said it has grown and changed over the years.

Originally, Bowl-A-Rama was co-owned by Bernie St. Onge and Clayton Tanguay, who opened the bowling alley in 1963. Lueneburg said options for bowling in the area then were limited.

“At that time, I don’t think we had much here,” he said.

Bowl-A-Rama had 16 lanes when it opened. St. Onge and Tanguay added eight lanes to the bowling alley in the 1970s.

Lueneburg, who has long been a bowling enthusiast, became a co-owner of Bowl-A-Rama in January 1996.

“I actually was a meat cutter at Elmer’s County Market,” he said.

While he was working there, Elmer Dagenais was asked if he would be interested in taking over Bowl-A-Rama.

“He said ‘no, but I know someone who would,'” Lueneburg said.

During his time as co-owner of Bowl-A-Rama, Lueneburg has overseen multiple changes to the bowling alley. These have included the remodeling of the building’s bar and bowling area, as well as the installation of a pizza oven and a deep fryer.

In addition to these improvements, regular maintenance has continued at Bowl-A-Rama.

“Of course, we redo lanes … about every two years, we coat and then we resurface,” Lueneburg said.

Currently, Lueneburg said business at Bowl-A-Rama has been mixed.

“The kids’ leagues are way down,” he said.

However, there have been some bright spots for the bowling alley.

“Open bowling’s been really good,” he said, noting that open bowling numbers been going up slightly each year.

Meanwhile, participation in Bowl-A-Rama’s adult leagues has leveled off.

“It’s been staying the same for probably three years now — four years,” Lueneburg said.

Lueneburg also said Bowl-A-Rama hosts local high school bowling programs.

“We actually have Escanaba and Gladstone here,” he said.

In the future, Lueneburg said he plans to continue doing what he has been doing at Bowl-A-Rama. While he is interested in making larger-scale improvements to the bowling alley, the cost of doing so has proven to be prohibitive.

“We want to get stuff done, but it’s so expensive,” he said.

For more information on Bowl-A-Rama, visit www.upbowling.com.