CULLMAN, Ala. – Entertainment venues (e.g. arcades, theaters, bowling alleys) in Alabama were given the green light to re-open May 22 by Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, subject to social-distancing and sanitation rules such as making sure patrons stay 6 away from people from other households. With that, Cullman Bowling Center re-opened its doors.
The Tribune spoke with Cullman Bowling Center Advertising Executive Colby Sandlin to learn what safety guidelines the business is following and how things are different due to COVID-19.
“We’re practicing social distancing; we’re doing every other lane,” he said. “We’re making sure bowlers leave equipment that stays here down on their lane when they’re done so we can go through as employees and sanitize and get everything ready. Other than that, it’s just generally keeping the tables farther away from each other, making sure there’s not too many big groups side by side.”
Sandlin said the bowling center is trying to make things as normal as possible.
“We’re still doing our bowling leagues Monday through Thursday; we’re still trying to do birthday parties, but it’s a little bit different now,” he said. “With birthday parties we’re keeping two lanes spread apart since it’s a bigger group, but we are still taking birthday party reservations, so don’t be scared to have your birthday party here. We’re going to make sure that we’re being careful!”
He added, “Nobody is touching the same keypad. We’re going through sanitizing the keypads after patrons are done bowling. With our restaurant (Valley Tavern and Grille), we’ve set up our tables where chairs are no less than 6 feet apart. We actually took out chairs because of it and we’ve lost some business because of it, but that’s just what we got to do.”
What does he want customers to know?
Sandlin smiled, “We’re open for business; we’re glad to be back. It’s been a long two and a half months and we’re glad to be back and re-opened. For customers, just be safe. Do like the guidelines say: stay away from other people you’re not with. The main thing would be if you want to wear a mask and gloves, that’s awesome. We’re not enforcing that, but anything to keep you safe, that’s our main goal.”
Cullman Bowling Center is located at 1710 Tally Ho St. SW, Cullman, AL 35055. Find out more at www.facebook.com/CullmanBowlingCenter or www.cullmanbowlingcenter.com.
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