Vintage cool meets classic cocktails with a well-designed sporting twist in Chicago. Meet the team that transformed Avondale Bowl from down and out bowling alley to the best designed bar on the continent as part of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024
When the afternoon sun hits just right, streams of golden light flood the lanes at Avondale Bowl, a strikingly hip second-floor bar and bowling alley in Chicago’s Avondale neighbourhood. The vibe is bright and airy, its tone set by a beautiful mélange of industrial, retro and modern elements. It is, in short, a great place to spend an afternoon with friends in the Windy City.
The space wasn’t always so welcoming, though. Despite having previously operated as a bowling alley twice – first by the name Court Recreation when it opened in the 1930s and then as Northwest Bowl – the room had fallen into disrepair after closing in the early 90s. When Luke Blahnik stumbled upon the project in 2015, originally inquiring about the ‘for rent’ sign in the former grocery store on the first floor, he felt obligated to infuse new life into the dilapidated space.
“The bowling lanes were being used for storage from the grocery store and were full of boxes and trash,” Blahnik recalls. “Once I saw the bowling lanes and the bar, I immediately knew that it had to be revived. It was all just too cool and I knew the neighbourhood had to experience it once again.”
Blahnik and partners Tony Correale and Jeff Wilson hired Studio 6F and Range Design to handle the renovation, which began two years before the bar opened in January 2020. Thanks to the thoughtful restoration of vintage details and the introduction of complementary modern elements, the captivating design earned Avondale Bowl the first ever regional Bareksten Best Bar Design Award as part of North America’s 50 Best Bars in 2024..jpg)
Opened in 2020, Avondale Bowl is located in a renovated building from the 1930s
What makes Avondale Bowl’s design so compelling is how it flips the script on the typical hallmarks of the American bowling alley, helping usher the genre firmly into the 21st century. The experience begins in the front lobby with an unexpectedly dramatic, colour-soaked atrium that sparks surprise and curiosity upon entry.
“We wanted to recreate the same feelings that Luke had when he walked into the space for the first time and that we experienced when we saw it boarded up: surprise,” says Gil Melott of Gil Melott Studio (formerly Studio 6F). “A saturated orange entry and an industrial stairway that opens up directly to the bright bowling lanes, as well as a wall of windows overlooking the neighbourhood and a skylight over the original bar, is definitely not something you expect.”
Instead of the typical sprawling windowless room flooded with jarring fluorescent lights, the space is relatively compact, divided into two main rooms decorated with stylised light fixtures, furniture and other modern details. “The space naturally has a lot of symmetry because of the bowling lanes and the bar centered in the middle of the room. We pulled colour inspiration from the Brunswick ball returns and the shade of paint on the old walls,” says Blahnik, adding how he gave the design team a Big-Lebowski-meets-Wes-Anderson steer to guide its creative brainstorming.
To create a playful pastiche of retro and modern elements — a medley designed to acknowledge the history of the space without coming off as too kitschy — the design team made a concerted effort to keep as many original features of the space as possible, including the lanes and exposed brick walls. “One of the objectives of the design brief was to deliver a modern space that understood its roots and the sense of fun that came with them” adds Melott.
The bar has retained and integrated the original rail from the 1990s
The bar itself was in a sorry state when Blahnik first laid eyes on it, but the team admired the integrity of its shape and sturdy mahogany wood, so it removed everything but the bar rail, refinished it and rebuilt the bar to dimensions that would fit the vintage rail.
To help bring the full vision to fruition, a variety of local artists were brought on board to handle details like the custom furniture and murals. “We found a lot of people who were passionate about maintaining vintage things,” says operating partner Jeff Wilson. “We had a neon expert who was really excited to make a few signs for us. Our painter helped us paint those masking units over the lanes. The designer who did our merchandise and scorecards is very into retro bowling things. We will continue to have to do work to modernise the space, but most of the vintage elements will remain.”
The Royal Tenenbaums-esque colour palette used to brighten up accent walls coupled with the sweeping windows and a new skylight over the bar welcome natural light into the space to keep the mood upbeat.
“Many people comment that it’s the brightest, nicest, bowling alley they’ve ever been to. It’s neat to take a sport that typically serves a different crowd and give it a new purpose,” says Blahnik. “We host a lot of birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties and have even had several weddings here. Plus, we have regulars who come to just enjoy the bar, which makes us very happy.”
Melott adds: “The most telling moments are when you sit back with a frozen White Russian and just hear the pins crashing, the music is loud and there are crowds, lots of crowds. That was the plan.”
The list of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier, was revealed at a live awards ceremony at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on Tuesday 23rd April 2024. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube to stay up to date with all the news and announcements
