Nov. 11, 2008 — Good news for Susanville bowlers — the local alley may be open soon. Larry and Lise Wosick, owners of Honey Lake Motocross Park in Milford, hope to complete an extensive remodel of the 12,500 square foot building by the first of the year and operate the bowling alley, bar, pizza restaurant and arcade.

“Lise and I love community projects,” Wosick said. “We just recently finished our hurdles with the track, and we saw the bowling alley was closed and decided to pursue it. When we looked into it, we found there were some people who wanted to buy the property and flatten the place. We thought, ‘What a pity.’ Our motivation was to try and make a deal and keep the bowling alley here.”

Wosick said his long-term business partners, Bay Area real estate developer Dan Lester and his wife Patty, share the Wosicks’ passion for the project.

“We were excited by what we saw,” Wosick said, “and so we phoned him. We’ve been working together on projects for the last 20 years. As a young man he was involved in a large bowling complex near Santa Cruz. So we became partners and formed a company, Main Street Bowl, LCC. Since we live in the area, we’ve taken on the responsibility to handle the rehabilitation of the building, work with the local community and manage the asset. We’ll put all the employees in place and deal with all that stuff. We hope to be open by the end of December.”

Wosick said he wanted to wait until everything was in place, including the bowling alley’s liquor license, before opening for business.

“We want to wait until everything’s together before we open,” Wosick said.

He plans to schedule a number of private tests of the entire operation to “try and eliminate as many hiccups as possible.”

Except for the lanes themselves, much of the building will see major remodeling work.

“There’s a lot of water damage from the roof being ignored over the last four years,” Wosick said.

The newly remodeled bar will feature a comfortable lodge feel with lots of wood and stone, a large fireplace, a nice pool table and a shuffleboard table, Wosick said.

“The whole vibe will be a place where adults can come and relax and enjoy themselves like they were visiting a nice lodge,” Wosick said.

The kitchen will be remodeled and will become a pizza restaurant. Wosick plans to enlarge the dining area and feature a large party table that could seat 20 or 30 people for school groups and other community events. The dining area also will feature smaller tables.

The bathrooms will be completely redone to bring them up to standards, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Wosick removed the lockers and will enlarge the arcade, an area for kids who can play pool or video games.

The rear entrance to the building also will be remodeled with double glass doors and lighting for the rear parking area.

Two new five-ton heating and cooling systems were installed, taking advantage of energy-efficiency rebates from the Lassen Municipal Utility District.

Wosick said all 10 of the pinsetters at the back of the lanes have been refurbished.

“They’re old, but they’re really solid,” Wosick said. “They just needed minor things, really.”

The wood surface on all 10 lanes will be resurfaced as well.

“Everybody from city hall to the city planners and the city inspectors have been 100 percent wonderful and cooperative,” Wosick said. “I think everybody’s happy to see the bowling alley reopen, and we’re just happy to be able to contribute to the community. With this business we’ll be able to get involved and support the whole community.”