Garibaldi Lanes is marking 40 years in the community, but it isn't a very happy birthday.
The five-pin bowling alley is still open, but has gone through three different operators in as many weeks and is currently in a state of confusion between the owner of the building and the person running the business.
Sarah Braebrook, who was running the bowling alley as Garibowldi Lanes, cancelled her lease, said Paul Lalli, spokesperson for the company that owns the building. Lalli struck a deal with Holly and Marco Raschella to take over and the Raschellas ran things for a week, but reportedly didn't have time to run the operation.
The doors were still open this week with former manager Shanda Dosanjh running the operation without Lalli's knowledge.
She said the bowling alley was being kept open by a group of volunteers who want to see the bowling alley continue to operate.
"We have some very outstanding YBC bowlers in our house and we would hate for them to feel that they can't go on because we don't have a house to bowl in," Dosanjh said. "Some of our youth bowlers have made it to the national level in competition."
"We are losing so many things in our downtown corridor that it really makes us want to fight to keep Garibaldi Lanes running for another 40 years," said Dosanjh. "We feel the more people we can get to come in then it will show everyone that it is a good idea to keep it going. We are very close to losing a really good thing."
When The Chief contacted Lalli on Thursday (Feb. 19) he was surprised to learn that Dosanjh was running the bowling alley.
"Because of the situation we are in with the lease, with someone walking out, I'm trying to get an operator in there and I'm willing to offer free rent for the next couple of months," Lalli said. "This comes as a surprise to me if they are volunteering their time."
Lalli said as far as he is concerned, nobody is voluntarily running the operation. "Any money they make is their money," he said.
Lalli said he negotiated with Dosanjh before striking an operating agreement with Braebrook. Lalli also said he discussed the possibility of Dosanjh operating the business but those negotiations did not produce a deal.
Dosanjh and Lalli both said the negotiations broke down last summer. Dosanjh wanted to take over the operation in the fall and Lalli wanted an operator to run things right away.
Lalli said he is willing to speak with anyone who is seriously interested in running the business.
"My wish would be that it is Shanda running the business," Lalli said. "I need to have a formalized agreement to ensure that liability and insurance issues are covered."
