EVERYWHERE HE LOOKS – whether it be gazing down the polished wood runways of the 16-lane bowling alley, or back toward where a handsome bar summons parched patrons, or a dozen paces over to the tempting billiard room bedecked with plush couches – KINGS Back Bay general manager Steve Coyle sees FUN in capital letters.

In fact, that word tends to come up a lot when Coyle, who also oversees Sonsie restaurant, discusses the newest venture launched by the Lyons Group and slated for a March 25 official grand opening: the conversion of the defunct Cheri movie theater at 40 Dalton Street into a funky bowling alley and lounge tricked out with a full-service, 160-seat restaurant.

" What we’re hoping for — and one of the things that’s really important to me — is that people realize that this is about fun, " Coyle says, taking a break amid the buzz and whir of construction. " Instead of trying to be the next hip place or the next cool place, we’re just trying to have some fun here. I think when people see the place and see the design, they’ll get it. I don’t want people worrying about what they have to wear, or worrying about being seen by the be-seen crowd. I want people to come in here and say, ‘Hey, this is a great place to relax.’ That’s the most important thing we’re trying to get across. "

Indeed, attempting to take in all of what is, essentially, a 25,000-square-foot adult amusement park decked out in an array of pastel eye candy, neon accents, mural-size riffs on Warhol-Lichtenstein-style pop art, and classic happy-hour lighting requires more than a cursory scan of the premises. Rather, it proceeds far better when undertaken at a relaxed pace with pool cue, bowling ball, or — our preference — perfectly chilled cocktail in hand (alas, we had none on this occasion).

The Lyons Group’s desire to transform KINGS from a derelict old movie house that’s seen better days to a prime chill-out spot (situated across from the Sheraton Hotel and Hynes Convention Center) where a relaxed, regular-Joe atmosphere rules, is a bold and, some might argue, risky business proposition given the current economic climate. But it’s also one that seems utterly necessary if that vicinity is to reclaim the commercial and aesthetic vitality that was once a given.

" That area had life when the Cheri was there, but it’s been desolate since. We’re hoping to breathe new life into the area, " says KINGS co-owner Patrick Lyons of the location, whose only recent attractions have been the attached parking garage and Bukowski’s, the adjacent bar that appears to do a brisk business. " It’s been an awful space with the building being unoccupied, and we’re going to change that. We’ve always been risk-takers, and people think that a bowling alley is a challenge. With the economic times we’re in right now and the economic uncertainty, people would also argue that this is not the right time to be undertaking a massive development like this. But we feel good about it. Everybody likes to bowl. "

The idea for KINGS first took hold while Patrick Lyons was initially looking for a site to house another Jasper White’s Summer Shack (he and White are business partners). The owners of the property where the Cheri had stood declined to subdivide the site to make way solely for a Summer Shack, so Lyons was confronted with the question of how to fill 25,000 square feet of extra space. Long story short, while bowling with his daughter, Lyons hit upon the idea for KINGS — or rather, it hit him. From there, more head-scratching ensued.

" We had to figure out a program that would work, " Lyons says. " We had to wrestle with the space. Keep in mind, it used to be poured-concrete floors that were on an angle to accommodate the theater. There are details like that [to be worked out] that most people don’t think about. "

" The greatest thing about Patrick is his ability to see through walls, " says Lyons Group vice-president Mindy d’Arbeloff as we survey an alcove that leads to the DeVille, a retro cocktail lounge with a hint of ’60s flavor. " This place is a continuous ‘wow.’ I’ve been with the Lyons Group for 15 years, and yes, clubs get transformed, but this is the most major transformation I’ve ever seen. " She points to the room-size row of polished lanes, whose sheen is augmented by the black-light neon that glints off the wood and chrome, and mentions — with some incredulity — that it’s the spot where the Cheri’s theater seats used to be.

Indeed, comparing the old Cheri floor plan to what’s here now — pop-art wall murals; citrus-colored floors of orange and maroon — is a tad disorienting. Lyons won’t reveal how much this makeover cost, but confirms it wasn’t cheap. " I won’t say anything specific, " he says. " But I’ll say that by a factor of three, [it is] more substantial than anything we’ve ever done before. Translation: very expensive. "

Once the bowling-and-billiards concept was settled on, the Lyons Group realized what it had to do: learn everything it could about those pastimes as quickly as possible. Not just the guts of bowling, like pins and balls and strikes and alleys and floor wax, but how to coordinate the business of bowling, and how to tie it into the larger experience of the great hang. In the case of the latter, atmosphere can be everything. There’s a distinct ambiance — a special vibe — to a shrine like, say, Fenway Park. The same goes for a classic American institution like a bowling alley or billiards room. With that in mind, says d’Arbeloff, capturing the attitude of what a bowling alley should be was just as important for the KINGS endeavor. " We’ve been everywhere, " she says, citing her visits to both vintage and new bowling alleys in New York City and Baltimore.

Lyons, who’s also KINGS’ project designer, says he didn’t like any of the bowling alleys he investigated. " They just didn’t appeal to what we think people wanted, " he says. By contrast, he believes KINGS gets it right. " Let’s put it this way, " says Lyons. " We think this is better than anything we saw. " Coyle agrees that the new site embraces what " a bowling alley should be " — a space that features state-of-the-art amenities along with a nod to time-honored tradition and history, such as a rear bar whose wood countertop has been constructed, literally, from lanes lifted from the old Wal-Lex bowling alley in Waltham-Lexington, and then refinished. Likewise, the row of burnished wood benches lined along the lanes was moved here from Wal-Lex, as were the vintage — and still functional — metal foot lockers flanking the alley.

" We took a lot of the old-school elements of bowling alleys and put them together and adapted them into this space, " Coyle says, before adding a disclaimer: " The important thing to realize about this space is that it’s not just about bowling. It’s about different experiences. This is a funhouse. Everybody thinks of pool halls and bowling alleys to be [about] candy machines, with no one paying attention to the food product. " KINGS will differ considerably in that regard, having brought in talented Sonsie sous-chef Art Welch to handle patrons’ culinary demands, no matter how sophisticated or basic.

" People have to realize that even when you’re making a hamburger or a pizza, it should be a great hamburger or a great pizza, " says Coyle. " This is a huge operation, and with a huge space like this with a lot of areas to cover, one of the most important things is that people be surprised by how well we take care of them. This isn’t going to be a place where we herd you in and take your money, and we don’t really care about your experience. "

Indeed, with operating hours that run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., the KINGS staff wants the club to have a flexible personality and malleable identity. As a way of reaching a wider demographic than just a nighttime crowd, KINGS also hopes to lure corporate types who want to shake up workaday routine. " They can bring in a DVD and watch a corporate presentation on one of our 16 televisions while they bowl, " says Coyle. Also, the facility is making a point of adopting a family-friendly daytime atmosphere. In addition to opening up the lanes to children during daytime hours (11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.), KINGS plans to host kids’ birthday parties every Saturday and Sunday morning. (Patrons under 21 years of age will have to be accompanied by a parent after 6 p.m.) " We’ll have a secure environment for [kids], and we’ve specifically hired some staff who are used to dealing with those kinds of events, " says Coyle.

Whether kids will enjoy contemplating Bill Murray’s rose bowling ball or the prosthetic arm featured in Bobby and Peter Farrelly’s bowling comedy Kingpin, though, is open to debate. In truly a case of saving the best for last, this brings us to KINGS’ pièce de résistance: the four-lane, private " Kingpin Room, " which functions as both a shrine to the flick of the same name, and a cozy alternative for bowlers who prefer a little personal space. The room’s available for private parties or corporate events by advance booking (rental rates hadn’t been determined at press time), and it’s probably safe to say that the space constitutes the only shrine in the country to a Woody Harrelson–Randy Quaid movie.

The " Kingpin " room " is a place where people can relax, or where really bad bowlers can come and not be seen, " says Coyle with a grin. As he likes to remind visitors, personal comfort and a casual good time are what KINGS is all about. " We’re not trying to be a trendy place, because trends end, and this place is going to be around for a long time, " he says. " It’s a place where even the tragically hip can relax. "

PHOTOS BY KULAFOTO.COM

Issue Date: March 18 - April 1, 2003