There is a silver lining on everything.
For Don Cloutier, owner of Westlock Bowl, the damage that occurred as a result of the massive flood last August means that he’s able to renovate his bowling lanes and bring them up to modern specifications.
“One nice thing about all this is that it’s getting a major rejuvenation that was needed down here,” he said, with a laugh. “It’s going to really look like something when we’re done.”
The bowling lanes are being rebuilt from the ground up. Flooring, drywall and lighting are all being replaced.
Cloutier estimated the total cost of the renovations at around $300,000, not counting lost revenue from being under repairs.
“The lost revenue is killing us. If somebody were all-in on this bowling alley — if they had to count on (its operation) to make payments and such — this would have sunk them.
“Even us, we weren’t sitting in too bad of shape, but if we don’t get something happening soon, we might be sunk.”
Cloutier is covering the cost of repairing the lanes with an insurance payout but repairs to the building are coming out of his pocket.
Since the repairs began, crews have been hard at work to get the alley back in operation.
One unfortunate setback for the alley is that it won’t be able to hold its Bowl for Cancer fundraiser, which has been a staple tradition in January for several years.
“I think we’re going to miss that for this year. We haven’t really sat down and figured a whole lot out. We’re just playing with rebuilding this place.”
He also noted that a number of bowling leagues have been greatly inconvenienced by the flooding.
Cloutier noted that he’s hoping to have the alley ready for use by the end of February.
“It’s coming,” he said. “At this point, we’re hoping for the tail end of February, but I guess time will tell.”
