The operators of a chain of Minnesota bowling centers are planning to spend more than $1 million to renovate and reopen the Waialae Bowl in Kahala later this year.

Michael and Matthew Anderson, whose family owns five Colonial Lanes centers in Minnesota, have formed Waialae Bowl Inc. to take over the old bowling lanes that closed at the end of February. The Andersons have a tentative 10-year lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools that is contingent on them securing a liquor license.

Waialae Bowl Inc. representatives appeared before the Honolulu Liquor Commission Thursday and received preliminary approval of its license.

Adam Apo, a Kaimuki High School graduate and former U.S. amateur bowling champion, has managed one of the Colonial Lanes centers for 10 years and would run the new Waialae Bowl when it reopens. Apo, 43, said he pitched the idea to the Andersons about taking over Waialae Bowl after finding out from his sister, Lei, that the lanes were closing.

"The Andersons know my best interest would to be back home in Hawai'i," said Apo, who learned to bowl at Waialae Bowl. "I would be a partner with them and hopefully see this project through."

INTERIOR TO BE GUTTED

The Waialae Bowl opened in 1958 and had been in disrepair over the past few years. Apo said the Andersons know that much work needs to be done to renovate the bowling center and said they are prepared to spend $1.4 million to do so.

Plans call for new lanes, machines and for the interior to be gutted and remolded. Apo said the building's roof leaks and also needs to be fixed.

Apo said construction will begin soon after the lease is secured and should take at least 90 days to complete.

"We're going to pour everything we have into this," Apo said. "We're going to try to turn it into — on a scale of 1 to 10 — hopefully a 10 and offer bowling year round."

He added that a liquor license is needed to help bolster revenue and keep the alley afloat.

"Our No. 1 product is bowling. But because the remodeling will cost us over $1 million and because we have a short 10-year lease, we have to have a food and beverage service along with bowling," Apo said.

The effort to reopen the bowling alley was headed by Ed Sun, a former instructor at Waialae Bowl. Sun heads the Honolulu Bowling Industry Steering Commission, which was formed at the urging of City Council member Ann Kobayashi to save the center or find investors willing to build a new facility.

Sun said he found the Andersons through Apo, a former bowling partner and student of Sun's. Sun said he's thrilled at the thought of Apo running the bowling alley where Apo learned to bowl.

"The best thing we could do was bring someone who wanted to have a center in Hawai'i, was already an existing operator and had a management team that was already performing," Sun said.

WELL WISHES

Businessman Frank Yamamoto opened the bowling alley in 1958, but shut it down when his 50-year lease with Kamehameha Schools ended. He said rent and other costs became too high and he could no longer afford to keep the center operating.

Yamamoto said the bowling alley was profitable until the final two years of operation. He said one financial obstacle he could not overcome was his lease did not allow him to sell alcohol.

Yamamoto wished the new operators well because he knows how much work needs to be done to reopen the bowling alley. Yamamoto said he couldn't even guess how much it would have have cost him to do so.

"We didn't even try. After 50 years you have to tear the whole thing down," he said. "They can try. But I've been a real estate broker for 50 years, I have my credentials, and if we cannot make a go of it, I don't know who can."

When Waialae Bowl closed, it left just three public bowling alleys on O'ahu — Pali Lanes in Kailua, Aiea Bowl and Leeward Bowl — and forced bowlers to scramble to find new places to bowl. Open lanes will be even more difficult to find when Pali Lanes closes at the end of next year.

"We can save bowling and bring bowling back here," Apo said. "I grew up bowling. Hawai'i isn't all just sun and beach."