Juneau’s bowling alley is a bowling-shoe clad step closer to being able to serve beer and wine.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted unanimously Tuesday to renew Taku Lanes’ recreational site license. However, bowling and beer won’t be an immediate reality in the capital city.
PINZ began operating in May at the Willoughby Avenue bowling alley following the closure of Taku Lanes. That means the license will need to be transferred to PINZ, and the next control board meeting isn’t until January.
In a letter to Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office Director Erika McConnell that was included in the meeting’s packet, Taku Lanes owner Cindy Price wrote that she intends to transfer the license to PINZ.
“It is nice to be able to at least see a little light at the end of the tunnel,” wrote PINZ owner Robert Petersen in a message to the Empire.
He said the past six months of business have been slow.
“But we are making progress,” Petersen wrote.
The renewal was made possible by a bill passed by the Alaska Legislature in May and signed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in July.
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The bill allows for alcohol service in areas that had been operating under a recreational site license before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board deemed licenses to be against state law.
The same bill allows for the Alaska State Fair and ski areas to serve alcohol.
• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.
