Asbury Lanes to shutter earlier than planned Waxahatchee Oct. 11 show cancelled

By Michelle Gladden

In a Facebook Post for the popular vintage bowling alley and music venue organizers announced they will shutter earlier than planned.

“Our renovation schedule for the Lanes got moved up to October 5th, so, we don’t want anyone to have to risk life and limb to come to a construction site to see a show,” the post said.

Asbury Lanes, a retro bowling alley built in 1961, has been operating as a music venue for the over ten years. Owned by waterfront redeveloper, iStar Financial, the building’s lease expires at month’s end.

iStar Senior Vice President of Land and Development Brian Cheripka said there was no change in their plans to renovate the Fourth Avenue venue.

“iStar remains committed to keeping this iconic music venue,” Cheripka said. “Asbury Lanes is closing after October 3rd in order to begin the approval and renovation process. The rehabilitation of the venue will be completed in phases, with the exterior improvements taking place over the next several months.”

Asbury restaurant owners Bob Fahey and Chris Fahey, along with Asbury developers Pat Fasano and Vince Gifford, are the current leaseholders.

Tickets for the October 11 Waxahatchee show will be refunded by the point of purchase seller, according to the Facebook posting.

“Never goodbye…It’s like the Lanes will be hibernating for the fall and winter and spring…” the post stated.

Istar has said it intends to restore the building as close as possible to how it exists currently. They also plan to preserve its music and entertainment but has not announced who will handle the entertainment bookings when it reopens.

The rennovation time frame and planned reopening has not been announced.

Istar is rehabilitating the former Salvation Army building on the same block into a 110 room boutique hotel [shown to the rear of Asbury Lanes in the photo above]. The building and Asbury Lanes are adjacent to each other and iStar plans to connect the buildings with a walkway and extend the liquor license from the hotel into Asbury Lanes.

Asbury Lanes was built and owned by the Ayles family until recent years.

About a decade ago, Meldon Stultz took over operations and changed it into a live music venue while preserving the bowling. Stultz, who is also known for organizing the Race of Gentlemen featuring vintage hotrods and motorcycles on the beach in Wildwood, is no longer part of the operations.

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Sep 29, 2015