Vancouver Bowling Alley Saved by Family and Loyal Volunteers

When Rachael Allen threw a 70th birthday party for Allen's Crosley Lanes last August, she wasn't sure the family bowling center would survive much longer. Her husband Don had died just three months earlier, and most of their bowling leagues had already left after reading a premature article years ago saying the business was closing.

But something magical happened at that birthday party. The community remembered that Crosley Lanes was still open, and people started flooding back through the doors.

"It could be just wall to wall," Allen said. "They heard."

Don Allen had grown up in the bowling industry, learning from his father and grandfather who'd owned bowling centers in the Portland area since 1948. He met Rachael nearly 50 years ago when she came to get change at Interstate Lanes, and he held his hand over her coins until she looked up at him.

"He goes, 'Hi,' and I said, 'Hi.' And we were together from that day on," Allen recalled.

When Don died last May from complications of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the 42-lane bowling center's future looked uncertain. The business had been struggling since a 2018 article mistakenly led people to believe it had already closed, causing leagues to scatter to other venues.

Annie DeKlyen, secretary of the Monday night bowling league, never left. "When we first heard they were selling the lanes, everybody was just heartbroken," she said. "We're like, 'Oh my gosh, if we can win the lottery, we would love to buy the place.'"

Instead of winning the lottery, DeKlyen and other loyal patrons simply rolled up their sleeves. They volunteered to help coordinate events and market the business on social media.

Allen's two adult children, Amanda Grooms and Don Allen Jr., stepped up to run daily operations. Even her nine-year-old granddaughter Genni works the restaurant register on Mondays when a bowling league for people with disabilities comes to play.

Sunny's Take

What makes this story shine isn't just about saving a business. It's about a community refusing to let a gathering place disappear. For decades, Crosley Lanes has been where friendships formed, romances began, and generations of families created memories together.

John "Coach" Fantini has been coming since the 1960s and calls the bowling alley "like a home." That's exactly what it became for countless people over seven decades.

The turnaround has been remarkable. The Columbian reported that Crosley Lanes just enjoyed its best winter season since the pandemic. While the business is technically still for sale, its newfound success has Allen reconsidering.

"Our family motto is 'Allens don't quit, and we're in it to win it,'" she said. "We've got myself and my kids and my grandkids, and we're just going to keep going until we hear something different."