KIRKLAND, Wash. — After nearly 67 years of serving the Eastside, Tech City Bowl in Kirkland officially closed its doors on Saturday night.
The owners sold the property to developers who plan to build a five story apartment building.
"Yeah, it's a bummer ... but I get it," said Greg Fagen, who bowled a final game with his wife and two friends Saturday night.
The Fagens said they've been coming to the bowling alley for about 30 years.
"To me, it's a family thing. And for friends, it keeps people together. I'm sad to see its going to go away," said Darla Fagen.
"We got to know these people here. it's a friendly place to just have fun, have a few drinks, and bowl a little bit," Greg Fagen added.
The bowling alley opened in 1958 as Totem Bowl.
"It's always been a great bowling alley. We love coming here," said Tim Hatch, another longtime bowler. "Sad to see it go. I've seen so many bowling alleys come and go it's not even funny."
While many customers made a point of celebrating and squeezing a few more frames in before Tech City closed, others were caught off guard as they learned of the building's fate.
"We found out when we got here, so it was good timing. We love to come here, it's always fun," said Scott Aungst. "They have everything you want. Bowling, beer, food ... air conditioning in the summer."
The City of Kirkland has already issued permits for demolition and the proposed apartment building. City records show it will be five stories tall with 368 residential units and 7,000 square feet of retail space at street level.
More than 450 parking spaces will be made available beneath the structure, according to the permit.
It's unclear when the project will be completed.
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