Creative Works has reached out to several FEC operators to discuss with them how they’ve recently reinvested in their business and found success post-pandemic. Read on for further details.
Sun Valley Lanes
Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sun Valley Lanes is a traditional bowling facility that has since expanded to include a variety of other attractions.
John Losito, owner of Sun Valley Lanes, decided that he wanted to work with us to bring laser tag to his facility. Upon learning of an opportunity to acquire additional land, Losito knew he had to take advantage. He called Nick Salfity at Creative Works, to discuss adding Cosmic Golf mini golf to fill the new space.
After talking with Losito, Salfity proposed an alternative to Cosmic Golf: the new Lucky Putt attraction. The super-sized, gamified version of mini golf was exactly what Losito was looking for to appeal to the young adult demographic. Sun Valley Lanes successfully added both laser tag and Lucky Putt and is seeing excellent returns.
John Losito: “Look for all opportunities to engage with your customers whenever you have an opportunity to promote something new. A fresh coat of paint, a new logo, new staff or any other improvement or change in your business shows your customers that you care about them and their experience. Making these small investments helps in the long run, as it builds a sense of reinvestment/improvement into your culture.
“We are basically hitting our revenue projections now, and we are still at limited capacity. If we were allowed to go to 100% capacity tomorrow, I don’t think we could handle the influx in business. We are addressing our employee shortage as creatively as we can, which as many operators know, is a challenge right now. It’s a strange problem to have, but a good problem to have. As long as we can continue to meet our service expectations, we are going to do tremendously well.”
Sun Valley Lanes Lucky Putt
814 Lanes and Games is a rebranded FEC in Johnstown, PA that includes bowling, laser tag, escape rooms, virtual reality and more.
The facility was formerly a traditional bowling centre that the owners were intent on transforming into a full-on FEC. They wanted first-class attractions that made them the premier destination for family entertainment in the area. Creative Works worked with them to add escape rooms, Hologate Arena, and laser tag.
Chris Hogue: “We knew that there was going to be a time that is fast approaching when people were going to be ready to go out again and they would be ready to make up for lost time. These customers were also going to be interested in seeing a clean and safe environment and clean crisp new attractions would show them we care about them.”
“We have items no one in our area has. We have seen significant traffic following stimulus check releases and look forward to showing off our new attractions as more and more people feel comfortable coming out again.”
814 Lanes and Games Escape Rooms FatCats Queen Creek
FatCats is a well known movie theatre and entertainment chain across the western United States with locations in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Idaho.
The Queen Creek, AZ location was looking to expand beyond just movies, and have entertainment options. The goal was to bring in other money-making attractions that gave guests a new entertainment option while they were waiting for a movie, or simply looking for a unique and immersive experience. Creative Works worked with FatCats to bring in 9 holes of Cosmic Golf, complete with DMX integration and sound and lighting effects.
FatCats Queen Creek Mini Golf Valley Lanes
Valley Lanes, located in Midland, MI, is another entertainment centre that started primarily as a bowling facility and wanted to branch out to include other attractions.
Creative Works worked with Valley Lanes to bring its escape rooms to their facility. The business had an old conference room that was not being used much. To take better advantage of this space and turn it into a profit centre, Valley Lanes chose two of escape room themes, Pharaoh’s Revenge and Mayday, to give their facility a revenue boost.