New East Hampton Bowling Alley On Schedule For Winter Opening

The owners of a new bowling alley, miniature golf and sports bar under construction in Wainscott said they expect the facility to open for business late this coming winter, possibly as early as mid-February—and that when it does, local residents who give their time and sweat to the community will be rewarded.

Scott Rubenstein, one of five partners in East Hampton Indoor Tennis, said that the ownership has agreed to give 20-percent discounts to all village and town employees, all volunteers of local fire and ambulance crews and all active duty members or veterans of the U.S. armed forces.

“I said to my partners, ‘Guys, there are some people who are very important to this community and I don’t want them to go unnoticed’ when they come here,” Mr. Rubenstein said this week. “Anyone who takes the time, as expensive as it is to live out here and as hard as we all have to work, to volunteer to run into a burning house or help someone who is sick or injured, we would like to thank them in our own way. All the people who work behind the scenes to keep this place we live in going, I’m not sure they get acknowledged enough … but when they come here and they want a night out, we want them to know that we know what they do and appreciate it.”

Mr. Rubenstein also said that he is devising a special promotion for all graduates of East Hampton High School who stayed in the town after graduation, as he did.

“We’re going to come up with something fun,” he said. “I’m calling it Bonac Alumni Who Stayed.”

Mr. Rubenstein and his partners—Jerry Cohen, Dick Tarlow, Barry Emmanuel and John Geelan—announced last week that the new facility will be known as The Clubhouse with a golf club for the “L” and a bowling ball for the “o.” The moniker proposed by one of Mr. Emmanuel’s daughters was chosen from among 168 entries in a naming contest.

The project is creating 10 bowling lanes, four bocce lanes, an outdoor miniature golf course, an arcade and a 200-seat sports bar and restaurant, in addition to adding more indoor tennis courts to the existing facility.

Construction commenced late last year despite a still-pending lawsuit brought by some area residents over the approvals issued by the East Hampton Town Planning Board, which residents say did not take a close enough look at the potential traffic impacts the facility could have on nearby residential streets.

Mr. Rubenstein said that he is hopeful the project will ultimately be seen as a good thing by the community, including those living down the street.

“It’s been a fun project so far, except for the lawsuit, of course,” he said. “Hopefully it’s a good business venture for us, and something everyone in this community is going to enjoy.”