The Great Recession nearly killed Atomic Bowl and Joker’s. A $110K makeover caps its turnaround

A $110,000 bar upgrade at Joker’s, the night and comedy club inside Atomic Bowl, caps a decade-long turnaround for a business that grew up with Richland.

Established in 1958, the year Richland became a city, Atomic Bowl was struggling when Max Faulkner and his partners took it over 50 years later.

The economy was in the teeth of the Great Recession, and the outlook for the business was not good.

Faulkner said the first time he walked in the bowling alley, it was almost unbearably hot. The HVAC system wasn’t working right.

It was one of many signs the facility was aging and its equipment was balky and outdated.

A decade on, Atomic Bowl is the umbrella brand for an entertainment complex that has not only bowling but a mini-casino, comedy bar and night club, and an arcade that collectively employ 115 full- and part-time workers.

Reasons for success

It wasn’t the most obvious investment in a recession.

But Faulkner, who once taught business at Eastern Washington University, had been managing about a dozen mini casinos out of Wenatchee when the subprime mortgage crisis hit and the economy seized.

His casino businesses stopped turning a profit. Faulkner needed a job.

He and his partners took on Atomic Bowl, which carried a six-figure debt load.

The day-to-day task of running the business fell to Faulkner. He hired a team that knew how to run bowling alleys, repair gear and market through social media.

Faulkner credited his hands-on management style and smart employees who were happy to share ideas for crafting the comeback.

The down economy hurt helped too, as budget-minded customers turned to bowling for low-cost entertainment.

Washington’s smoking ban, which took effect in 2005, added a unique boost.

It hurt the casino side of the business, but helped the bowling side as Atomic recast itself as a family-friendly destination where kids bowl free.

A thriving bowling league emerged, flying in the face of industry trends.

Traffic through the casino, which sports a New Orleans theme, eventually increased too. The “drop” — what players put in casino games compared with what’s paid out — tripled from previous years.

Faulker said he added the comedy club in part to support his own standup aspirations. The arcade came on as well.

Repayments and renovations

The debt was repaid. The return to profitatbility meant the owners could tackle long-delayed updates, like the bar.

It was badly needed, Faulkner said. The old set up was more than 20 years old and strained to keep up with the roughly 800 people the nightclub welcomed on busy weekends — and their $15,000 worth of drink orders.

Servers had to wait in line. The layout added extra steps between bar and beer taps, further delaying drink orders.

The undersized cooler made it hard to maintain and serve brews at the right temperature. Even the green room where comedians hung out was too large for what it needed to be.

The update changed all that.

The cooler was enlarged and equipped with better refrigeration to keep beer a consistent 32 degrees from keg, to tap, to glass.

A server bar was carved out of the green room, speeding up table service and taking the heat off the main bar.

The taps were moved to the front of the main bar, so bartenders could fill orders without the extra steps.

A pair of wells contain everything bartenders need to assemble drinks on the fly. The back bar gained more shelving and a touch of neon to highlight the offerings.

The update comes at a pivotal moment for Faulkner and his partners, who also own Yakima’s Nob Hill Bowl, Casino & Restaurant, and Seattle’s Roxbury Lanes Bowl.

The three sites are profitable on their own, but they’re separate companies, unlinked except by their owners.

Faulkner, now 64, said he and the other owners are contemplating the next step for a model that seems to work.

They want to unite the three businesses under one company, then sell stock in the company over the counter to raise capital for potential expansion.

“They are good businesses,” Faulkner said. “Amazon is not going to put us out of business.”

Atomic Bowl is at 624 Wellsian Way, Richland. Joker’s Casino opens at noon daily.

Follow it on Facebook @AtomicBowl.

Last Quiznos closes, reopens Friday as Showtime Subs

Showtime Subs, an independent sandwich, soup and salad shop led by a retired Arizona teacher, opens Friday in the former Quiznos restaurant space in Richland, 950 George Washington Way.

Loretta Messer moved to the Tri-Cities to purchase the equipment of the former Quiznos and created the movie-themed business concept.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends. Messer, who self-funded the venture with retirement savings, said she will add smoothies to the menu in about two weeks.

The store number is 509-578-1650.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "The Great Recession nearly killed Atomic Bowl and Joker’s. A $110K makeover caps its turnaround."