posted on March 24, 2011 23:46
John Amend is ready to strike it rich with a new concept of entertainment: luxury bowling.
Amend, president and CEO of The Amend Group, has been a longtime bowler and has a private four-lane bowling center in his White Rock Lake residence that has seen the likes of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman and George W. Bush and his wife Laura, among others.
But Amend wanted to spread his love of bowling, or that's what Fortune magazine's March 21 issue touts.
Amend is in the planning stage to bring a chain of luxury bowling centers to Dallas. The concept would debunk the generalizations of poor food and tired properties that typically plague the bowling centers.
The two-story luxury center would cost $15 million to construct and would include a wine cellar, in-house chef, and resident pros, much like a country club. In fact, they'd be private clubs — membership required.
Although the site of the first bowling center has yet to be named, Amend says he will likely set up his pins in Uptown or downtown Dallas
Amend says he hopes to break ground on the center this year. Others could follow, depending on the success and demand for luxury bowling, he said.
"If the market supports it, we'll roll right along," Amend said.
Dallas Business Journal, 3/17/11, Candace Carlisle