Could Serra Bowl re-open in the Richmond District?
RichmondSFBlog reader Gideon happened by the former Delano’s Market space on the corner of 27th Avenue and Geary the other day, and observed a man checking out the property.
Turns out he was a representative from Serra Bowl, the Daly City bowling alley that was forced to closed in late April after losing their lease. They had been in business for 51 years and longtime customers were crushed by the closure.
On their Facebook page, Serra Bowl recently asked fans for recommendations on a new location in San Francisco:
Here is your opportunity to help us out. We are looking for a building large enough to build a new Bowling Alley in the greater San Francisco area. The building needs to have at least 20 thousand and up to 50 thousand sq.ft. with plenty available parking. The cost to lease needs to be no more than $1.00 a sq.ft. per month. Please reply if you know of such a space available.
We contacted them to see if the former Delano’s location, which has been empty since December 2010, is in the running for the re-birth of Serra Bowl. If we hear back with an update, we’ll let you know!
Could be cool to have a bowling alley in the neighborhood – aside from a market or car dealership, what else would need all that space?
Sarah B.
Wow, this would be awesome.
Huh, neat. I worked at that Cala for three years.
I am a terrible bowler, but this would be so awesome. I hope the space works for them and they can get a lease they can afford.
I like the idea! Our family loves the Presidio Bowl, and it’d be nice to have another spot for variety.
Thank goodness the Presidio Bowl is still there instead of a world class museum. Nimby’s be shootin’ themselves in the food of this new alley happens. Thanks for that.
‘foot’ ‘if’. Ha ha.
My family would LOVE it! We bowled at Yerba Buena last weekend ($40/lane/hr!) Yikes!) and would love something closer and less expensive.
Great idea! We are blessed with exceptional outdoors opportunities, but some form of indoor recreation is much needed in the Richmond.
Great idea. The City just isn’t the same without spots like J-Town Bowl and Serra (yes…I know Serra was in DC). We need a quality bowling alley that can be family friendly and cater to real bowlers and not hipster d-bags like the new Lucky Strike and Mission Bowl. I hope it happens. Would be a welcome addition to the hood. RICHMOND D. FOR LIFE!
AWESOME! I hope this happens!!!!!
OMG, this is a disaster in the making. We badly need a supermarket there, not a bowling alley. At the risk of sounding like a party pooper, a bowling alley is something I’d expect to find at a strip mall or a shopping center, not a grand boulevard like Geary Boulevard.
Sounds good to me. It would be great to have a place to bowl in the neighborhood. With Fresh and Easy located nearby it is doubtful that another supermarket would locate there.
This is great news! Geary has been a graveyard for some time now, this will deffinently inject new life into the neighborhood and hopefully bring bussinesses similar to this here. Hope they move soon.
That would be so cool!
But, at least 20,000 to 50,000 square feet? This listing has it at 15,000 (http://www.sfredevelopment.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1682)
Yeah, the space seems a little small for a decent bowling alley, and while it has a lot, it hardly supplies “ample” parking.
I dunno, I’m mixed. We live just down the street and although we and our kids enjoy our fair share of bowling, I’m not sure how I feel about having a bowling alley right there next to us. I’d worry about rowdy/drunk people spilling out of there at 2 or 3am — and the shenanigans that would surely follow. I enjoy how quiet it is around here. Given a choice, I’d rather have a supermarket.
Whether or not this is the ideal spot, I like that the owners/operators of Serra Bowl are looking to reopen. Though it’s a long way to a supermarket from the mid-Richmond, I think both Safeways and the Fresh and Easy are better off being in high demand than having their market diluted. (We shop more at 18th and Geary Produce, Royal Market, and First Korean Market than supermarkets anyhow). Add to the mix Arguello Super, Tradr Joe’s, Appel & Dietrich, and New May Wah pulling big niche markets, a supermarket would be a weird choice for that location, though one less overextended than DeLano’s might find it worth their while (but nobody seems to have swooped in so far). Though a little wary of late night noise, I’d rather see a bowling alley than have another big lot occupied more bland (or super-fancy) apartments, and it would definitely pull more people to the outer edge of the shopping district than the supermarket (with easy but exclusive parking) did.
As far as lot size, Jtown Bowl was on two stories, which was a little disorienting climbing the stairs into an identical room, but clever use of space for the 1970s.
I’m all for a new bowling alley in the city but its way too small (Unless they make it a multi story building like the old jtown bowl). Parking lot space doesn’t even compare to the old serra bowl. AND people (here) will probably complain about the noise level at night. I personally want some kind of 24 hour restaurant there.
Hmmm, I’d like to see a bowling alley, but the building really needs to be torn down, with a new building taking up the whole lot (underground parking). Surface parking lots are just all sorts of trouble with places like bowling alleys in urban areas – too many drunk folks hanging out in them after closing. Inside parking is much easier to control and police for that kind of stuff.
I miss Lincoln Bowl so I’m all for this. There are plenty of markets in our neighborhood if you don’t mind going to more than one place.
Has anyone heard of a supermarket chain called, I think, Ranch 66? They specialize in all sorts of Asian foods, but are the size of a Safeway? I went to one in S. California and it was great. Everything under one roof. Given our demographics, seems to me this would be an ideal location for a market like that.
Presidio Bowl is 15,000 square feet. This Cala looks to be about 13,000.
The city requires bowling alleys to have one parking space for each 200 square feet, so in this case it would need 65 spaces, way more than the 25 or so that exist now. They’d be required to build a three-story parking structure just to keep the same building. Can’t see it being feasible.
A 20,000 square foot bowling alley would be required to have a roughly 35,000 square foot parking lot. Don’t know where you’d put that around here.
The Richmond NEEDS A GYM!!! Bowling? Seriously? Why hasn’t anyone thought of opening a gym that’s open 24 hours, so we don’t have to schlep all the way to SOMA or whatever 24HR Fitness location??
Excellent! I hope they put in a few pool tables.
I grew up (over here in the Sunset) going to Baghdad Bowl, Westlake Bowl, Haight Bowl and later bowling at Japantown Bowl. I think it would be wonderful to have Serra Bowl come to the City. The management is fantastic. For years they sponsored Kops & Kids day and were very generous to community groups. They were the closet place to the City that participated in “Kids Bowl Free”; a national program offering free bowling every day during the summer to kids.
As to the parking issue they could always apply for a variance. I’m sure there would be lots of support for that.
So where else would be good? Is Target taking all the space at the old Sears building? Or maybe at the Alexandria. It would be great to have them somewhere on the west side of the City!
I dont know I think I would rather have a Trader’s Joe at that location.I live like 2 blocks away from the old Delano’s and since Delanos closed the closest supermarket is Fresh and Easy and that’s a bit of a walk to get there. Especially if you live up hill from the old Delanos.
1) There are plenty of local markets on Clement around 23rd-25th that have whatever you need. No need to drive to a supermarket when those places are available. There’s also a supermarket at the Fresh and Easy, a few blocks away.
2) The asian supermarket referred to is called Ranch 99; there’s is one up at the Westlake shopping center in South San Francisco. However, while it is a good market, we actually have better ones; New May Wah at 7th and Clement beats it hands down for variety and price. Ranch 99 would be competing with about 10 different Asian supermarkets that exist between 2nd-12th on clement.
3) It’s not too small; Japantown bowl was, as I recall, in a smaller space. It can work. Perhaps the city can make an exception for the parking, as the area is served quite well by Muni.
Actually, I think a Fitness Center or Gym would be great for this location. Not such a fan of the bowling alley idea.
I have heard that Grocery Outlet is interested.
I miss Mervyn’s. Maybe I’m the only one, but since I’m indifferent to clothes, it was perfect for picking up presentable pants, shirts, sneakers, etc. at reasonable prices.
I’m not sure what the existing equivalents are, but something that combines Mervyn’s and Bed & Bath selections would be good.
I called 24 Hour Fitness and pushed the idea when they closed the one in the Marina. They said they’d consider it. Please call and push this with them. If enough call they may open one in the Avenues. I’d like a bowling alley too. I’d be happy with anything. It feels ghetto to have it all boarded up for a year and a half. Anything, a 24 hour restaurant, a Mel’s, a Mexican Restaurant, a bowling alley or a 24 hour fitness center would be welcome, or else just make it a park, put in a couple basketball courts and a garden and a play structure. Anything but what it is now which sucks. Or an elementary school so they can guarantee any kid in the Richmond can be placed in a school in the Richmond, which isn’t the case now. I’m for this because the alternative is nothing. They aren’t offering to put in a Safeway, it’s bowling or nothing. If any other thing is feasible, propose it but don’t say no to this and then have it an empty lot for years. That just sucks man!
Good luck getting a permit. The neighborhood will veto that sh*t to the death.
I live a block away and doubt it. This neighborhood is dead and before you say, we should put a store here, or a 24 Hour Fitness, remember, I called 24 Hour Fitness, they refused, and no store can compete with Safeway or Fresh and EAsy, so I think after 1.5 years the neighbors have learned not to reject a bird in the hand hoping for 2 in the bush. I’d love it if they reopened the Hippo Restaurant there, but they won’t, if this doesn’t happen it’ll stay boarded up. We need something, and a bowling alley would be packed and have lots of people having fun, make the neighborhood more interesting. You’ll get punk bowlers, yuppie bowlers, Orthodox bowlers from across the street, hippy bowlers, tons of Asian bowlers, crazy Russian Mafia bowlers, even a few Polish bowlers. Fun-loving Latinos will drive up from the Mission, African Americans from the Fillmore, the 38 Geary bus runs 24 hours so if the bowling alley is 24 hours, you’ll get people taking the bus from the Fillmore, Tenderloin, SOMA, Nob Hill. It will make the neighborhood much more fun and interesting. Very few neighbors will try to veto that.