With Phase 3 beginning in Oakville this past weekend, a wide range of businesses reopened in town - Hopedale Bowl being one of them. Now that indoor recreation is allowed again, why not start with an Oakville classic?
Hopedale Bowl has been an Oakville staple for more than 60 years. It's the only bowling centre in town, and home to the great Canadian sport of 5-pin bowling.
Current owners Ron and Linda Watson couldn't be more excited to have bowlers back inside the alley. Ron spent some time with Oakville News talking about how they've changed their business and what it's like having people playing again.
"The first part of being home was kind of novel," he says. "Now we’re ready to be back out and doing what we love. But the most exciting part is getting to see people, like our regulars, that we haven't seen since March."
What makes bowling a great choice for an activity in town? "It’s good exercise. And for some people, this is the first time in a long time they're in public. With social distancing, we can space out nicely and we can still have a good time."
One of the alley's major features is spacing the 16 lanes to only 8. There's an entire lane between groups and the entire facility has moved to a touchless system that goes beyond payment.
Bowlers fill out a form when they arrive, filling out a recent health form and contact tracing sheet. They're also asked for shoe sizes and names so the lane is set up when they walk there, and shoes and balls are delivered too them.
"Every single thing they touch gets sanitized and disinfected in between bowlers," says Watson. It's one of the new safety measures in place to reassure guests it's as close to 100% safe as possible.
And yes, masks are required for visitors when they are not eating, drinking, or bowling at their lane.
What's changed at Hopedale Bowl
In addition to the equipment being cleaned between groups, many now-staples of post COVID-19 practices are in place for safety with guests.
"We have the plexiglass barriers up, all of our staff is masked up, and we'll be using spaced out lanes for social distancing," Watson explains. "We have a social distancing stickers on the floor, and you’ll notice there’s no bowling balls on the lanes anymore. We're now pretty much touchless on virtually everything."
Their snack and drinks bar is also open, and can be enjoyed between games or at tables assigned to each bowling lane. Hopedale also has hot foods and alcoholic drinks in additions to snack bar favourits.
But what does Ron say the best thing is on the menu? "My personal favourite thing on the menu is the snake bites!" What's a snake bite? Don't worry - most people see the name and can't help but ask.
"Effectively they're oversized white-meat chicken nuggets that has jalapeño peppers in the batter. Pair it with our sweet and sour sauce and you have a nice zingy punch." (This reporter's personal opinion: I bought lunch to try them for myself and they really are delicious.)
As bowlers new and familiar come back, Watson teases there are still more changes to come at the alley. "We have some summer specials it’ll be available on our website this summer."
Watson says there will be summer specials coming over the next few weeks, including something special for Labour Day. Fall bowling leagues are also expected to return in September - the premier event at Hopedale Bowl.
The best part of being at Hopedale's reopening day this weekend was seeing the camaraderie between league bowlers. This is more than a weekly exercise or sport; this is an entire community that now gets to come back together.
So Hopedale Bowl's reopening really signifies something bigger. Beyond the sport that's bringing people together, it's one of the biggest steps towards some sense of normal leisure in town being available once again.
Hopedale Bowl is currently open six days a week. Hours are 12:00-5:00pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and 12:00-9:00pm Fridays and Saturdays. Visit them online at HopedaleBowl.Ca for more information.