FSR January 2023

OntheRise

itself as a “classic bowling alley with an upscale twist.” The venues, often sec ond-generation spaces, include roughly 14–20 bowl ing lanes, 6–10 bi l l iard tables, a sports bar, an arcade, board games, mini golf, DJ, cornhole, ping pong, and more. The six current outlets range from17,000 square feet to 43,000. Now, the chain looks for real estate in the 30,000-square-foot range. Although each location takes a some what different shape, Siniscalchi says

food program, Siniscalchi says it will go “a little extra” when it can. For instance, the Strike Burger features a char-broiled Angus steak, served alongside porta bella mushrooms, bacon, Swiss cheese, and signature sauce atop a toasted bri oche bun. Similarly, the Gutterball Pizza includes premiummeats like applewood smoked bacon, mild Italian sausage, and ground sirloin. “We do our pizza in-house,” Siniscal chi says. “We don’t do any frozen dough

ket. Even though running an eatertain ment concept requires more skill and financial standing than a typical res taurant, Siniscalchi says the company decided to franchise knowing it could scale much faster by leveraging the expe rience and systems of well-equipped operators. With that said, corporate stores will expand in parallel to the fran chise footprint. “As long as the market is viable from a demographic standpoint, we don’t let the geography get in the way of working with the right people,” Siniscalchi says. “We’ve got franchise partners in Sacramento and southernNew Jersey, andNashville, Ten nessee. The geographical strategy is sec ondary to a people strategy of finding the right partners that can deliver the cus tomer experience we want to maintain.” To ensure growth, the concept hired COO Wayne Stancil, who previously worked as Main Event’s vice president of operations for nearly four and a half years. The industry veteran has already made an impact by building the real estate strategy, tweaking operations, and streamlining communication. Siniscalchi also lauds the hire of national sales director Melisa Schisel, who entered the brand in July 2021 after past stops at eatertainment chains Lucky Strike, Jake’s Unlimited, Spin, and FatCats. With her presence, the burden of the sales process and communicating contracts is taken off the franchise oper ations team. This allows management to focus on executing customer experience. In deciding whether to partner with prospective franchisees, Siniscal chi favors operators who meet 810 Bil liards & Bowling’s primary philosophy, which is putting people first. Food and beverage experience is helpful, but not the biggest piece in the decision-mak ing process. “It’s about that brand core value align ment and understanding the bigger pic ture of P&L management, and basically having experience and bandwidth to operate a multifaceted venue that has different moving pieces and being able to understand what successful manage ment looks like,” he says.

810 BILLIARDS & BOWLING GOES ‘A LITTLE EXTRA’ WITH ITS MENU.

810 BILLIARDS & BOWLING

a common theme is creating a seam less guest experience. Customers enter through a lobby area and check in with the host, where they receive directions if it’s their first visit. From there, con sumers have one tab that follows them around—meaning, if your group wants an extra hour in the bowling area, no one has to go back to the host stand. The main bowling lanes are near the front. There are more toward the back in a pri vate space, which is typically used for corporate events and parties. In terms of food and beverage offer ings, 810 Billiards & Bowling “didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Siniscalchi says. The menu is filled with upscale, Amer ican bar food, with items like burgers, wings, and pizza leading as top sellers. The chain also has a full liquor license. While the brand focuses on leading through the quality and breadth of its

or canned sauce. Everything’s scratch and the quality comes through and dif ferentiates our food product from the other folks in our space.” Siniscalchi believes 810 Billiards & Bowling can fit intomultiple markets; it’s just a matter of tailoring to the existing demographics. The Phoenix and Hous ton locations are in urban downtown centers driven by young adults and nightlife. The upcoming Fort Smith and Greenville stores will be more reliant on car traffic and likely have a higher mix of families. The customer base dictates the programming, so if the venue is in a suburban family market, the arcade will typically be bigger. 810 Billiards & Bowling is looking to fill the South with franchise partners, particularly in Florida and Texas. Ulti mately, however, the key is finding the best partner as opposed to the top mar

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