209 INFO
• WHAT: McHenry Bowl
• WHERE: 3700 McHenry Avenue, Modesto
• WHEN: Monday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
• ADDITIONAL INFO: This place’s position along McHenry Avenue made it popular when high school students from Stanislaus County used to flood the thoroughfare looking for a good time. That activity has tapered off some, but the popularity of the spot remains.
• FOR MORE INFO: Visit www.mchenrybowl.com or call 209.571.2695
MODESTO – The neon lights are the first thing that grabs your attention.
They might be neon. They’re definitely bright. And at night, when you pass by McHenry Bowl, the building stands out among the strip malls of Modesto’s commercial corridor as a recreational destination unlike the others around it.
When high school students from Oakdale and Escalon and Ceres and Turlock joined those from Modesto in creeping their best cars up and down the long stretches of road between McHenry’s traffic lights, McHenry Bowl became a gathering place – a break from the stop-and-go and a chance to roll a few frames and enjoy the company of old friends or new aquaintenaces.
The abundance of entertainment in the Central Valley has cut down on the number of cruisers in recent years but the bowling alley remains popular – it’s right near where restaurants and movie theaters and billiards halls and businesses all intersect in the same area.
It’s a place where you can have it all.
It’s the capital of Modesto’s entertainment.
And if you ask Joe McGuire it’s a great place to enjoy fun with friends without having to leave town – a place where league bowlers and those just looking to get in on the action can coincide and enjoy a game that brings pleasure to them both.
It also happens to be the biggest in the region – its 52 lanes eclipses Manteca Bowl by four lanes – which helps create an adequate buffer between the hardcore and the hardly decent.
“There’s a lot of room here and that’s a big deal when you’re trying to give newcomers a place to learn and the long-timers a place to enjoy what it is that they love,” McGuire said. “And it’s right near everything. You can go for coffee or you can go for dinner or a movie. There’s a lot around here, and that’s part of what makes it popular.”
The facility also boasts a pizza café, a lounge, a pro shop and an arcade. Lockers are available for as little as $2.50 a month on a yearly agreement for regulars who don’t want to haul their stuff to and from the facility every time they feel like coming.
