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Lucky Strike has confirmed that it has permanently closed its location under River Place on the corner of W42nd Street and 12th Avenue. It’s another Hell’s Kitchen victim of the pandemic.
“Regrettably, due to the pandemic, the property owners have chosen to go in a different direction at our New York property. We have appreciated the opportunity to serve the Lucky Strike Manhattan community over the years and are in the process of looking for a new location,” said Brandon Thomsen, Senior Director of Marketing at Lucky Strike Entertainment. “We look forward to serving you again soon!”
In July, local fans of the bowling alley hoped the venue would reopen after Eater reported Lucky Strike had secured $10m from Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), However, it appears that money was secured by the parent company that runs another 14 locations around the country. Lucky Strike did not respond to our request for a comment on the RRF money.
The Hell’s Kitchen location opened in 2008 — with some opposition from River Place residents. However, it became popular in the area and was a hang out for celebrities from Justin Bieber to Katie Couric.
Lucky Strike opened its first venue in Hollywood in 2003, setting out its stall from the start as “a magical place to let loose, have fun, and feel great!” In particular, it worked to resonate with “The Dude DNA” — the location even included pieces of the original set design from The Big Lebowski movie.
Dara MacQuillan, Chief Marketing Officer of Silverstein Properties, which owns River Place, told us: “We are sorry that Lucky Strike didn’t work out. We are looking forward to welcoming a new tenant into the space next year.”
Lucky Strike was the venue one year for the after party of the Tribeca Film Festival. It was wonderful! Great food and ambiance is what I remember!
I remember the telllng of the tale about the Night that Sandy got in to Lucky Strike Lanes. The Security person there, righteously accoutred in a dangly jewel like 🦈 sharks tooth & himself a former bakery owner of Sticky Fingers on First, a Hells Angels fav back when (?), said he watched as the floodwaters rose above the level of the Lanes & up the walls…6 feet🤔? at which point Lucky Strike H.Q. kicked in with reparations: the rebuild was SWIFT. Like, the next day. Hats off to Mr 🦈Tooth Man & a solvent & hyper responsive Parent Company for relocating. PLENTY of Mammoth 🐘 spaces unfurling around Town. Maybe not so Flood~Plainish. GOWANUS😝? As for Bowling, there used to be a place with 4? lanes one flight up on Christopher, just off of Sheridan Square. Classic. 🐉
We went there for the Labowski Fest a few years back (as well as a few other times). Great establishment – really well run and never had any problems to my knowledge over the years. They will be missed.
So sad to see “ Fun” Things leave the neighborhood and city.
The manager was very close friends with a couple I know. We were invited to come down and bowl a few games. I’m a terrible bowler but that didn’t stop me from having fun. It was one of the best afternoons I’ve ever had. We were comped everything and the food was so so good. We laughed and ate and drank all afternoon. I’ll never forget it.
I remember this place very fondly – I lived at one river place a decade ago. They used to have good deals for residents – if I recall, it was 15 pc off bowling, 20 pc off alcohol and 30 percent off food. I had one of the most fun dates with my future wife there bowling and playing ping pong (I probably owe my marriage to them!)
Sad to see them go. Sandy couldn’t take them down but unfortunately Covid finally did
I was at Lucky Strike back in 2010, not long after their opening, and met with a gentleman their then by the name of Stefano Tromba, who ran their marketing. He was excellent and so great to work with! He worked with me and my team to secure the Hell’s Kitchen location for a marketing/advertising contract that involved various film shoots that aired on local Time Warner stations in Manhattan. It worked so well and we all had such great fun working and playing there! Sorry to see this place close. 😢