The Final Chapter - Wildhorse Bowling
Today marked the final chapter in the story of my owning a bowling alley. We bought the lanes in February 2008, after the real-estate agent put the bug in my ear the previous Fall when we purchased the farm. Back then, the plan was that the bowling alley would be our prime business and source of income, supplemented by software work and possibly driving on of the local school-busses, all of which could have worked around the schedule of the bowling alley.
Life, of course, is what happens while you were busy making other plans. I never intended to open my small engine shop; I never expected that Trixstir would be basically working full-time at the local hospital; and we never expected that Snips (The Kidling's new nick-name, and there's a story behind that!) would rather chew his foot off than work in any of the family business ventures. The farm, along with the addition of two little girls has also put a lot of pressure on what little time we could squeeze out of a 24-hour day. Something had to give, and despite our best efforts, the bowling alley wasn't generating enough income for us to continue with it.
We closed the doors on December 23, 2013, after our final Christmas party; The plan had been to list the property on December 1st, but the agent was on vacation and once the holidays hit we pretty much had to wait until the new year. That's when our friend Barb heard that we were planning to sell, and made us an offer.
At first, Barb ran things under a loosely arranged lease, until we could get the assorted paperwork in order. Basically, she ran everything and we just had her pay for the taxes and utilities. Barb had the drive, energy, and time to really put into the place, and she did a great job of turning it around. She learned more about the operation, and made more contacts throughout the industry in five weeks than we had managed in five years! She's got all new shoes, new furniture, a better menu; she got an incredible deal on used synthetic lanes and an electronic scoring system which will be installed shortly. A painter by trade, she literally lit up the place with a simple coat of fresh paint and some new lighting. None of this stuff was free of course, which brings up the final point: Barb also had more money to invest in it than we did. Not a lot more, but enough to revamp things. It helps when you don't have a second business that you're trying to launch, and kids to look after.
This morning, at 10am, Trixstir and I met with the lawyers handling the transaction, and signed off on the papers. Barb and her partner came in at 11am and signed their copies. For all practical matters, this particular story is done; there's just the final loose ends to wrap up: close out our insurance policy, transfer the utilities, and GET THE MONEY! The funds will be deposited into our account early next week, and that will allow us to pay off our immediate debts (ie: credit-cards) and start concentrating on the next chapter of our lives. :)
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