Johnsburg's Wildside at Raymond's Bowl

JOHNSBURG – Before settling on a design for the 30,000-square-foot Raymond’s Bowl & Entertainment Center to replace the 100-year-old building across the river, Ray Kuna visited other big facilities around the country to get a feel for what else was out there.

He took his co-owners with him – wife Felicia and sons Steve and Joe – and the group ultimately decided to include in the new plans eight party lanes complete with projection screens, couches and a music and light show.

The trick was to set the area off with soundproof walls. That way, leagues of competitive bowlers could co-exist peacefully with groups more in it for the fun.

The “Wildside” lanes, as they’re called, have been a key reason the center has approximately tripled its customer base since the opening of the new center five years ago.

“We looked at different things and we designed it. We wanted to keep our league base which runs eight months a year,” Kuna said. “That’s the basis for our business. We have guaranteed business eight months a year.”

Raymond’s Bowl originally opened 35 years ago. Kuna has orchestrated plenty of changes to the alley since then. He said he was among the first to add bumpers, cosmic bowling and automatic scoring through the years.

“We were never afraid to try anything,” he said.

The Wildside lanes were another attempt at beating the curve. Instead of limiting the hours of cosmic-style bowling to nights, having an area set off for the activity puts no limits on when people can come in for a more upbeat bowling experience.

Some organizations take day trips to the Wildside lanes, Kuna said. There also is a steady group of bowlers who prefer the Wildside to the other 16 lanes, and the center frequently holds birthday parties and corporate gatherings.

“We can run a tournament on one side and have eight lanes of birthday parties on the other side,” Kuna said. “This is quite an innovation. ... More places are starting to do it these days.”

Kuna adds that it’s all in an effort to keep customers happy. While many things have changed since Raymond’s Bowl first opened, he said the commitment to the customers has not.

Kuna learned to value customer relationships from his father, who himself worked at a bowling alley as Kuna grew up. He’s passed that on to his sons, and tries to instill it in his roughly 25 employees.

“We try to mold them to our feelings with people – keep a smile on your face and never turn anyone away,” Kuna said.

The new building has contributed more than just the Wildside lanes. The facility has a sports bar with frequent live music.

It’s also opened up the doors to national tournaments. During July 6-8, the center will host the PBA Midwest Region Miller Lite Regular/Senior Doubles tournament. Among others, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber will be in attendance.

“The way we built the building was so we could accommodate more things in here now,” Kuna said.