Seattlest Bowls, Part 2: Leilani Lanes

Bowling starts with a B and that rhymes with T, and that stands for trouble.

No, not juvenile delinquency. We’re talking trouble in the form of “progress,” that vague euphemism too often used to explain the demise of too many bowling alleys. Since it’s only a couple months ‘til Leilani Lanes becomes a victim of such progress, the beloved Greenwood alley -- with 36 lanes, Seattle’s largest -- is the subject of this too-little-too-late installment of Seattlest Bowls.

Walk into the place on any given night, past the display selling homemade birdhouses, the small fountain, and the bulletin board filled with photos and clippings commemorating “Leilani’s Last Hurrah,” and you’ll usually find it full of folks having fun. Though we can’t claim to be Leilani regulars, we’ve always had fun there ourselves.

It’s also where we bought our first ball, ordered for us by Pete Ekonomakis, the no-nonsense manager of Leilani’s pro shop. We chose a traditional black ball, though Pete also carries garish balls branded with pop-culture graphics, like Looney Tunes, pro sports logos, Hello Kitty and KISS. Pete measured our fingers, drilled custom ball holes before our very eyes, and then gave us some valuable pointers out on the lanes. Like any good pro shop (standard at most alleys), Pete’s also sells bags, shoes, wrist braces and other gear. Many alleys also have vending machines stocked with smaller accessories -- tape, rosin bags, socks.

Of course, most casual bowlers simply rent creepy, ugly shoes (supposedly disinfected after each use), and bowl with creepy, ugly house balls, whose weights, colors, and degrees of wear vary greatly. After years of use by countless bowlers, only Jesus knows what sort of nasty residue has accumulated in their darkened finger holes. Fortunately, Leilani has a hand sanitizer on the premises.

Which is recommended, especially before eating in the Lani Kai Restaurant or having a drink in the Lani Kai Lounge, with its faux fireplace and lively karaoke action. The lounge's tiki theme extends throughout the facility -- occasional wood carvings on the walls, a few bamboo lighting fixtures, some employees in floral-print shirts -- but the decor isn’t as overblown as we’d prefer.

Regardless, Leilani has been enjoyed by Hawaiians, haoles, and most everyone else for nearly 45 years. Its untimely closing is what inspired this series in the first place, and unless there’s some 11th-hour miracle, its final night will be March 31.

So, if we don’t get another chance, we’d like to say mahalo, Leilani Lanes, and aloha.

(This is the second part of an eight-part series. Here’s part one.)