T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Ruth Murphy makes her debut at Chestnut Lanes since it reopened earlier this month after being rebuilt in the wake of a fire. She and her friends previously played in a league at the bowling alley.

BARNESVILLE — More than a year after a fire destroyed the Barnesville bowling alley in 2020, Chestnut Lanes has reopened and is ready for business.

Owner A.J. Corder said he officially opened the doors to the rebuilt establishment on May 12 with plans to hold a grand opening in the coming weeks. He said it has been a long road getting back to this point, and he is looking forward to serving the community again.

The original building, constructed in 1963, burned down Nov. 16, 2020, after an electrical problem occurred in a pop machine near the snack bar area. The only items the staff was able to salvage were the bar, tables and lanes, which Corder repurposed for the new bowling alley.

Since the fire destroyed the business, Corder has worked tirelessly to rebuild the structure in the same location where the former building stood. He credits community members for their continued support throughout the years.

“They’ve been fantastic through the whole process. During COVID, they supported me when the state shut me down and then the fire, they supported us with a gofundme. They raised money for us, and they’ve just been so excited to get us back open. The response to the place has been overwhelming. It is a beautiful place that we built, and people are really excited about it,” he said.

Corder said he reopened as soon as he possibly could. He said he had hoped to open earlier this year; but experienced delays in shipping and increases in material costs.

“It was a long time coming. It was a long process with waiting on the building, which took about seven months just to get the building constructed because of COVID, and with all the inspections and licensing, it was sort of a hectic process,” he said.

Some new additions include an outdoor patio area, automatic bumpers, light shows and large projectors at the ends of the lanes above the pins.

Although this time of year is typically slow for bowling alleys, Corder said they are keeping busy.

“People are really excited to get in here. Bowling alleys usually make their money in the fall and winter months, not necessarily in the summer, but we’re trying to maximize as much business as possible opening up during an unfortunate date in the bowling business,” he said.

The Barnesville High School bowling team will return next season in November. Corder said the team was taken in by St. Clair Lanes while he worked to rebuild.

“We’re really grateful to St. Clair for taking us in and making our kids feel at home over there,” he said.

Residents are thrilled to have the alley returned to the village. A group of bowlers who previously played in a league stopped in to visit the new and improved location Friday. Ruth Murphy said it was their first time back since it reopened.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, adding that they might make coming in on Fridays a regular occurrence.

Students in the Barnesville Head Start program spent their last day of school bowling at the alley. Heather Campbell, teacher, said they took a field trip to the bowling alley to celebrate the school year.

“We wanted to do something fun and thought we’d come here. It’s our first time since they opened. It’s awesome, just amazing,” she said.

The group of 4- and 5-year-olds enjoyed themselves, taking turns rolling balls down the lanes and cheering each other on while doing so.

A grand opening is slated for June 11. Corder said they wanted to give out-of-state supporters plenty of time to make arrangements to attend.

“We have a lot of people from out of town that wanted to be here for our opening — friends of ours from Florida, Tennessee, Las Vegas – but you have no idea with commercial inspections, licensing when it’s going to be done. The reason we delayed the grand opening is to give people a chance to plan for flights and book hotels in town,” he said, adding that he is expecting a good turnout for the event.

The grand opening will include food, giveaways, live music and free bowling.

In the meantime, the bowling alley is open at various times throughout the week. To inquire when open bowling is available, call 740-425-1234 or follow the business’s Facebook page, which posts updates regularly.