Barring a substantial increase in COVID numbers, the Ten Pin Fun Center hopes to reopen its doors later this month after being closed for over a year.

Stanislaus County has been in the red tier of the state’s reopening system for just over two weeks, and Ten Pin general manager Mike Eggert is hoping that the entertainment center will be able to open as part of the orange tier sometime in April. Currently, bowling alleys are ordered closed by the state under the red tier.

After rumors swirled online that Ten Pin had permanently closed, Eggert reassured the community that the bowling alley, arcade, restaurant and more are all here to stay. 

“There was no way we would close,” Eggert said. “We’ve been through so much blood, sweat and tears, there was just no way we were gonna go.”

Prior to the state’s tiered system, Ten Pin re-opened for just two days last June after Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the go ahead. When state orders came to shut down again, it was a blow to the gut for Eggert and the rest of his employees. They hadn’t re-opened at the same time as everybody else because they painstakingly mapped out a health and safety plan which would keep patrons safe, but by the time they were able to execute it, another shutdown was ordered. 

“For the Ten Pin family and the community, it’s been so hard. We went through two layoffs, first in March and then when we opened again in June and were shut down two days later,” Eggert said. “This has been the most challenging year of my entire career.”

It’s taken plenty of financial support from investors and moral support from the community to keep the center afloat over the last year, but protocols are in place once again and the Ten Pin staff is training to welcome customers back once again. Social distancing stickers, extra sanitization and spaced out bowling lanes are just a few precautions being taken at Ten Pin, and Eggert said all customers will be required to wear masks unless they are seated and eating or drinking. 

To celebrate the center’s perseverance during the pandemic, a “grand reopening” will be held in mid-June, Eggert said, when the tiered system is lifted — ribbon cutting ceremony and all. 

After over 12 months of waiting, Eggert and the entire Ten Pin staff are eager to see the community once more.

“What we do for a living is we provide joy and happiness, and that's what we want to do again,” Eggert said. 

To keep up with the Ten Pin Fun Center’s reopening, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.