WCCO Viewers' Choice For MN's Best Bowling Alley
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Now that the weather is getting colder, many of us will be switching to indoor activities -- like bowling. So this week, we asked for your help in finding Minnesota's best bowling alley. You picked Cedarvale Lanes in Eagan.
It's a place of which The Dude would most certainly approve.
"It started out as a 24-lane center back in 1979, and then in 1980 there were so many league bowlers, and bowling was very popular at the time, that the previous owners decided to add another eight lanes," said Brent Prentice, one of the Cedarvale Lanes' owners.
That was a good idea, because league bowling is still huge at Cedarvale. With about 2,900 members, they have the most league bowlers in Minnesota.
And it's not hard to figure out why.
"We maintain our lanes pretty darn good," Prentice said. "Cleaning them, oiling them, keeping them consistent so you know exactly what your ball is going to do."
And that allows decent bowlers to score high, and good bowlers can go for perfection.
"We have 583 300-games here as of today, as of this morning," Prentice said. "The first one was actually done by a lady named Ester Haluza in 1981. She was 70 years old, and I think that was great. Seventy years old, shooting 300."
Prentice has a few records himself on what he calls the "wall of frame." And though his competitive spirit still gets the best of him, it now leads to charity.
When he heard about our poll, he made a bet with the owner of Flaherty's Arden Bowl.
"Since I won, he has to give me $250, and I'm donating that to Kids 'n Kinship," Prentice said. "And he has to wear my jacket, which says Cedarvale Lanes on it, for a whole week."
He is clearly a gracious winner. But when I started to get a taste of success on the lanes, it went right to my head.
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A game of bowling at Cedarvale is $3 on weekdays and $4 on evenings, weekends, and holidays.
I should also say they've got more here than just bowling. They have a restaurant, Fitz's, that makes a killer Reuben. And they have a pretty popular Sunday brunch.
Speaking of food, our next Best Of will be the Best Wild Rice Soup in Minnesota. Email your answers to me at mbrickman@wcco.com.
