Jellisons keep lanes Rollin'

Tammy and David Jellison didn’t want to lose a community mainstay.

Instead of seeing Jay County’s only bowling alley transformed into a warehouse, they purchased it and kept it as is.

Well, aside from a name change and the thousands of dollars they used to remodel it.

“I worked here for seven years for the Browns,” said Tammy, referring to the late Gary Brown, his son Gary Brown Jr. and their alley named Brown Bowl. “When (Gary Jr.) put it up for sale they had a couple people interested in using it for a warehouse.

“We didn’t want that taken away from the community so we put a bid in. It was accepted and we bought it.”

Back in February, a month before the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States, the Jellisons started the process of acquiring the business. The pandemic strained their ability to secure funding initially, but they were able to close on the sale in June.

“We’re all big bowlers,” Tammy Jellison said. “My immediate family, my kids … we wanted to keep it because we all love to bowl and we wanted to see something come out of it, even if that is our son.

“We also have a lot of bowlers that I’ve known for seven years that have become like family to me.”

Gary Brown Jr. retained control of the Brown Bowl name, causing the Jellisons to need a new moniker for the alley. They held a contest on their Facebook page asking for recommendations on business names.

Tammy Jellison wanted “Jelly Bowl,” as it was quick and would roll off the tongue easily when she had to answer phone calls.

She said they took the top four names suggested, put them in a hat and picked one. Thus came the alley’s new name — Rollin J Lanes. In a way, it’s a nod to the Jellisons, but Tammy said it is more of a reference to the county’s name.

In order to open — an executive order by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb forced bowling alleys to close in the spring — some labor-intensive work needed to be done.

When the Jellisons acquired the business, the ball return and pin machines were not functional; upkeep on the machines was not frequent and they needed a bit of TLC.

The machines were brought back to life for the initial opening date of July 4, but shortly thereafter they were approached by the owner of a Victory Lanes in Gas City that was going to close. He offered to sell the Jellisons his equipment.

Rather than using outdated equipment from the 1960s, the Jellisons wanted newer machinery. The prospective apparatus was only 15 years old. Upgrading made sense.

But they needed some additional help in terms of funding to purchase the new equipment. That’s when they turned to Portland City Council and the city’s economic development income tax (EDIT) advisory committee to request assistance.

City council agreed to give them a $50,000 loan.

“Tremendously,” Tammy Jellison said of how much the city’s assistance helped them. “It was (enough) to buy all the parts from Gas City.”

A dozen machines and extra parts for maintenance, extra storage and more bowling balls were soon going to be housed in Portland. However, next came the challenge of bringing it all approximately 36 miles to the east.

“Some of them were, as my father-in-law said, ‘Stupid heavy,’” Jellison said. “It was just the manpower to have people there to lift.”

In the heat of the summer, it took the Jellisons and a host of helpers, including Brown Bowl patrons, four weekends to bring the supplies from Gas City. Tammy Jellison also said the owner of Munsee Lanes assisted in helping maneuver the new ball return machines within the back of the alley to help get them in place.

Working in the daylight hours because Victory Lanes no longer had electricity, the group put all the effort it could to disassemble the equipment.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Tammy Jellison said, laughing.

More renovations were necessary, including upgrading the monitors for the scoreboards, the scoring system itself as well as a pair of control boxes in the ceiling that each run a set of six lanes.

Because of the extra work, the launch date was also pushed back, and in August they finally opened the doors to old and new patrons.

The Jellisons also have aspirations of adding an arcade, which would enhance their ability to host birthday and corporate parties. The soon-to-be arcade area, located on the north side of the structure, is still under construction. But, Tammy Jellison said plans have changed slightly, as she wants to expand the kitchen area as well to offer more of a full menu.

“(We) tossed around the idea of putting in a few tables for the ones that just want to come in and eat,” she said, adding that she hopes to install a deep fryer and a flat-top grill to go along with the current pizza oven. “They can go sit down and not want to bowl. We do have quite a few (customers) that want to come in and order pizza and sit down at two booths. Some nights there’s waiting list, they just want to come in and eat because they like the pizza.”

The expanded kitchen, new monitors and future arcade area have expenses of their own, and Jellison got another loan to help cover those costs. 

They’ve found the effort and the dollars involved worth it to keep the county’s only bowling alley in business and not turned into another warehouse.

“There was no way the bank was going to do (the full loan) and we just don’t have that in our pockets to fork out,” she said. “It would not have been possible without the city.”

Rollin J Lanes, located at 1616 N. Merdian St., has leagues three days a week and every other Sunday. There is open bowling from noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday. Thursdays feature half-price open bowling from noon to 6 p.m. Bowling is open from 1 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by Rock ‘N Bowl from 9 to 11 p.m. Open bowling is also available from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The cost is $3 per person per game, and it is $1 to rent shoes. Rock ‘N Bowl is $8 per person, which includes shoes, and the price is good for the full two hours.