Bowling in Wauwatosa

King Pin Management LLC nurtures and guides three restaurants and a dozen bowling centers all across Wisconsin. Their staff consultants and accountants track all these operations, tallying every penny while auditing employee performance. In addition, training instructors travel around to give employees refresher courses on proper workplace conduct, while menu developers help make restaurant offerings more taste bud-friendly. Not even pinsetters and floors escape the staff's attention—technicians comb every bowling lane and machine to root out faulty wiring and make sure new pin system computers know how to form a perfect triangle.

One part bowling alley, one part laser-tag arena, and one part sports bar, eSkape Entertainment facilitates friendly competition and allows guests to bond over rivalry-burying toasts. The high-tech bowling lanes aid players’ games with electronic score keeping, automated bumpers, and instructional videos on how to high-five. In the laser-tag course, players wield phasers and wind through dim corridors while searching for opposing team members. In between strikes and futuristic games of tag, guests can refuel at eSkape's in-house sports bar and lounge. The kitchen staff fires pub specialties—including mini cheeseburgers and slow-roasted baby back ribs—and orders can be delivered to each lane.

Within easy walking distance from the swooping neon, thundering pins, and intergalactic bowling murals of Glo-Bowl Fun Center lies a tranquil restaurant complete with stone fireplace. In fact, it's in the same building: not content with just a typical snack bar, the proprietors created a full spread of meaty sandwiches, sweet-potato fries, barbecue ribs, and other classic American fare. Every Friday and Saturday, the open patio hosts laidback live music that never overwhelms conversation, and guests are welcome to tote their meals into the alley if a favorable bowling wind suddenly arises.