Imperial Bowl has a new owner.
L&S Family Entertainment of Nashville, Tenn., has taken over the management of the bowling center, 6045 W. Outer Road, in Imperial and Crestwood Bowl, 9822 Watson Road, in St. Louis County.
Phillip Cox, L&S regional manager, said the company entered a management agreement to take over the two centers on July 8. He said the deal is expected to be finalized in about three months.
Cox said L&S paid $5.4 million for the bowling centers.
“We were going to wait until Aug. 1 to take over, but with summer leagues ending in August and fall leagues beginning, we just wanted to get in here and introduce ourselves prior to the league season starting,” he said. “We went ahead and pulled the trigger on it and made it happen quickly.
“We are excited to be here. We are excited for these centers to be a part of the family. We look forward to being here for a very long time.”
Larry Schmittou formed L&S in 2018 with his wife, Shirley. The couple’s five children – Debbie, Ron, Mike, Susan and Steve – also are partners.
The company owns 16 other bowling centers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.
With the acquisition of the 30-lane Imperial Bowl and 24-lane Crestwood Bowl, L&S now operates 620 lanes, which is the third-most lanes of any bowling chain in the country, according to a statement from L&S.
“They’re into the business, and they wanted to move into the St. Louis market,” said Terry Signaigo, who was a co-owner of Imperial Bowl and Crestwood Bowl. “It was just the right time. It was a good offer, and a good company. We felt good in doing it.”
Cox said L&S has been looking to expand into St. Louis for more than 20 years.
“I am in my 22nd year in the company, and (Larry Schmittou) has talked about getting into Missouri for at least that long,” he said. “We purchased two centers in Paducah, Ky., about 18 years ago with the intent of being in St. Louis. It has always been on his radar. The opportunities just hadn’t come to fruition, and we considered ourselves very fortunate that they have today.”
Tradition
Signaigo said Imperial Bowl opened in 1973, and he became a co-owner in April 2007.
Signaigo, who lives in Fenton, also said he will remain connected to the two centers because he has been hired as the general manager for the facilities.
“I will oversee the day-to-day operations for both centers like I have been for the last 19 years,” he said. “I’m very happy. I have been in the business for over 40 years. I got into the business in 1985. It is good to still be doing something. I am 70, and I feel good. I am not ready to retire yet.”
Cox and Signaigo said L&S will retain the employees who work at the centers as well. Cox said the company believes it is important to retain familiar faces.
“We are very excited to keep (Signaigo) on, and we have offered to keep all 42 employees,” Cox said. “At every location that we are fortunate enough to have, we try to do our best to have as seamless a transition as possible.”
Cox said the company would like to hire between 10 to 15 more employees to staff the two bowling centers.
“We like to make sure we are fully staffed at all places, all the time to help enhance the guests’ experiences,” he said.
Changes
Cox said L&S does not plan to make major changes to either center.
However, the facilities will be renamed Strike and Spare Imperial Bowl and Strike and Spare Crestwood Bowl.
“We don’t want to lose any of the history of the centers,” Cox said. “We don’t come in, take over, put any kind of stamp on it and start changing a bunch of things. These two centers are great centers. They have been run well. We just want to bring them into the family and get them to grow a little bit more.”
Cox said the company also plans to make other subtle changes, the first being putting a new roof on Imperial Bowl.
“The cost of that will determine what we can do the rest of the year,” he said. “We want to stripe and seal the parking lots. We want to paint the buildings. We may put new carpet in some places. We want to spruce them up a little bit.
“People will see some small changes over the next few months. We will see how it goes as to what big renovations lie in the future.”
Cox said the biggest immediate change people will notice is the smoking policy at Imperial Bowl.
He said there already is a no-smoking rule until after 5 p.m., and there will be no smoking allowed at all in the facility after summer league play ends in mid-August.
“We will be 100 percent smoke-free,” he said.
Two other changes will be when Imperial Bowl is open and pricing options to bowl at the facility.
Cox said starting Monday, Imperial Bowl will be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and it will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Fridays. The center previously opened at 11 a.m.
Imperial Bowl will continue to be open from 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays.
“I was at Imperial Bowl (on July 10), and after we opened, there was a steady stream of people walking in the door,” Cox said. “We would like to give them more time, so we will open a little earlier.”
L&S also has introduced hourly rates for lanes to go along with the traditional game rates.
People may pay $24 per hour for six bowlers to use a lane from the time the center opens until 5 p.m. on weekdays, and the cost for six people to use a lane is $28 per hour in the evenings on Mondays through Thursdays.
On weekends and Friday after 5 p.m., the per hour rate is $32.
Weekday game rates are $5 per game until 5 p.m., and the cost rises to $6 per game until closing on Mondays through Thursdays. The cost per game is $6.75 after 5 p.m. on Fridays and on Saturdays and Sundays.
The company also offers specials on most days.
On Sunday, bowlers may pay $13.50 to bowl as many games as they can from 5-11 p.m.
The Monday, Wednesday and Thursday specials are $12 all you can bowl from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and $9 all you can bowl from 9-11 p.m. Bowlers also pay $12 to bowl as many games as they can from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays.
On Tuesdays, bowlers pay $2 per game from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9-11 p.m.
L&S also offers a special beginning at 5 p.m. on Fridays that runs through Sundays, where customers pay $69.95 for one hour of bowling, four pairs of shoes, a large one-topping pizza and a pitcher of soft drink.
“Our business model is built on keeping people here as long as possible because we want people to enjoy it for as long as they can,” Cox said. “We like to offer specials during the week. Those are based on the game-rate prices. Whether it is all you can bowl or $2 per game. The ones we have put out are not set in stone. We just wanted to put something out there for the guest to understand things are different and changing a little bit.
“We will see where the leagues are, how many league lanes we have and what we can do with our specials going into the fall season.”
Signaigo said while there may be some changes with a new company owning the centers, he does not believe customers will notice that many differences.
“We try to have a family atmosphere and be friendly,” he said. “Both staffs are staying on. Hopefully, it is just business as usual. I want to thank everyone for the years of business and making us their bowling center. I am happy to still be around and see them.”
Cox said Signaigo’s and his partner’s business model is the same as L&S, and the company is looking forward to being part of the new communities.
“We want to get the word out that families are welcome, open play is welcome and league bowlers are welcome,” he said. “We are open to everybody. We don’t cater to one group or the other. We would love for everybody to come out, meet us and enjoy it.”