When Mahesh Boddapati, freshman, learned that West County Lanes closed down, he was devastated.
“I’m shocked, I’ve always had a fun time when I was there,” Boddapati said.
West County Lanes in Ellisville shut down due to structural issues on Tuesday, Jan. 7, following the ice and snow storm earlier in January, according to First Alert 4. The Messenger reached out for a comment but the business is unable to take calls at this time.
Boddapati said he has many fond memories at West County Lanes. He celebrated his ninth birthday at the bowling alley and spent time with his family there.
“When my grandparents came in from India, my grandfather bowled for the first time,” Boddapati said.
The last time Boddapati was at West County Lanes was with his Boy Scout troop, Troop 310. The troop takes a yearly trip to the bowling alley every December. Boddapati said he enjoyed bowling with his friends and also playing games in the arcade.
“It’s a local business and it’s a place where we can all get together and have fun,” Boddapati said. “It has these old 1980s arcade games, something you don’t see very often.”
Calvin Stumpf, senior, used to bowl at West County Lanes his freshman and sophomore year with Bowling Club. One of his favorite memories is earning his high score at the bowling alley.
“There’s a support beam that collapsed because the ice and the snow melted and there was too much weight on it,” Calvin Stumpf, senior, said.
Although Bowling Club dissolved because so many of its members were seniors, Stumpf said he enjoyed his experiences at West County Lanes.
“It’s just a good place to hang out,” Stumpf said. “I know a lot of people that go there, even if they don’t bowl.”
Senior Abhiram Permareddy, National Honor Society (NHS) president, frequently hosted community events at West County Lanes.
“It was a chill place where all the members could bond,” Permareddy said. “NHS is a community, and West County Lanes was an integral part our community could go to bond together.”
Permareddy said NHS has already started to look into different places social events could be hosted at instead. He said Chicken and Pickle in St. Charles is one of the options they’re considering.
Permareddy said there may possibly be events for NHS members to help support the alley.
“There’s definitely some people who are passionate about it and would want to keep it open,” Permareddy said. “We’ve done our events there for a while so I think everyone’s going to be said. It’s a local business shutting down.
Sophomore Principal Dr. Richard Regina takes his family twice a month to the West County Lanes.
“I’ve got three little kids. It was great for us. Just a fun spontaneous thing to do,” Dr. Regina said.
He said his family enjoyed bowling, playing pinball and getting lunch at the lanes. Dr. Regina said what he loved most about the bowling alley was the connection it had to the community.
“It’s close. It’s convenient. It’s locally owned. The owner’s kids went to Marquette. It’s got local ties,” Dr. Regina said. “This is a big loss to the community. It’s a place where people go to have a relaxed fun evening.”
Dr. Regina said even though there are other bowling alleys such as Bowlero in Chesterfield, none of them will have the local feel of West County Lanes.
