Asbury Lanes is set to finally reopen its doors over Memorial Day Weekend. What started as a bowling alley in the 1960’s and transitioned into a 350-capacity alternative music venue in the early 2000’s will be “the same anything-goes local hangout it always was and reborn as a state-of-the-art music venue,” according to David Bowd of Salt Hotels, the company that will operate the new venue.
The music venue/bowling alley hybrid finally got the makeover it deserved–after closing in October of 2015 due to structural and mechanical issues–and will reopen with double the capacity (a platform will cover the bowling lanes during performances allowing for a 746 capacity), an exclusive talent buying deal with The Bowery Presents, as well as a custom sound system and lighting from Nashville’s Cour Design.
Already a recipe for success, considering the room’s legendary value and proximity to Asbury Park’s Boardwalk, the venue–which faced closure after a half-century of use–is totally revolutionized and even includes a “secret” passage to the Asbury Hotel next door, “which was the first part of a multi-billion-dollar redevelopment of Asbury Park by real estate investment company iStar, which purchased the club,” according to Pollstar.
“Everyone has an Asbury Lanes story,” explains Bowd in a press statement posted in the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “Emotions ran higher with this project than with anything we’ve undertaken. What mattered to them matter to us: keeping the soul of this incredible venue while making changes necessary to guarantee its figure.”
According to the announcement, Bowery Presents–who books shows at major East Coast venues like Terminal 5, Music Hall of Williamsburg, and Brooklyn Steel–will host around 150 concerts a year at Asbury Lanes, bringing “a curated mix of both leading and up-and-coming talent to the Lanes’ re-invented stage.”
As for the venue’s design, “There’s no flash,” The Asbury Hotel designer Anda Andrei explains. “No one wants it too polished. This is a meaningful building. … This is going to be the fun, open, wild Lanes everyone loves, except we won’t have to worry that it might cave in.”
According to the NJCC, the famous bowling-pin sign will be reinstalled with a “modern twist” on the newly whitewashed exterior brick walls.
“We want to amplify what’s already here,” Brian Cheripka, senior vice president of real estate investment company iStar, explains. “We have an opportunity to capture Asbury Park’s incredible sense of place through the properties we are developing and although it involved a much greater investment than building a new building, we chose to restore as much of the original building as we could.” Oh, and there’s a 24/7 diner inside.
Check out some photos of the new Asbury Lanes below, as posted by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, head to the venue’s website.