How One Bowling Alley Made Millions Through COVID artwork

How One Bowling Alley Made Millions Through COVID

Acquisitions Anonymous - #1 for business buying, selling and operating

June 30, 2026

In this episode the hosts analyze a trendy bowling alley, arcade, and bar concept generating nearly $1 million in EBITDA and debate whether the real opportunity lies in the business itself—or in the underlying real estate. Welcome to Acquisitions Anonymous – the #1 podcast for small business M&A.
Speakers: Bill D'Alessandro, Heather Endresen, Mills Snell
**Bill D'Alessandro** (0:00)
Hello everyone, welcome back to Acquisitions Anonymous. This is the internet's number one podcast on buying, selling and operating small businesses. Today, we have a great one. I love this episode. This is in my hometown. This is a bowling alley arcade bar entertainment venue in Charlotte that I have been to. And they included a picture of the logo in the listing. So we know which one it is. We can actually talk really specifically about the neighborhood, about the business dynamics, about the area dynamics.
Stick around till the end because I figure out a way to finance this deal and make it work with very attractive terms. So without further ado, we'll get right into it. Enjoy this episode of Acquisitions Anonymous.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:57)
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**Bill D'Alessandro** (1:44)
All right, Heather, lead us in.

**Heather Endresen** (1:47)
Let's go bowling.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (1:50)
Let's go. All right, we've got we've got a fun one. And I actually know which one this is.

**Mills Snell** (1:56)
It's not hard to find out.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (1:58)
But this is a bowling alley, but not like your dad's bowling alley, like a cool bowling alley.

**Heather Endresen** (2:04)
Cool.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (2:05)
So and what I also like about this one is it has a project name is Project Kingpin.

**Mills Snell** (2:13)
That just sounds amazing. Justin, what are you working on today? Just Project Kingpin.

**Heather Endresen** (2:17)
Yeah.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (2:18)
So I'm going to read you guys the biz buy sell listing first, and then I will get into the Project Kingpin teaser. So again, let me reiterate, Acquisitions Anonymous, we do not sign NDAs. This is all publicly available information. So this is an exclusive Charlotte Entertainment concept now available for purchase in Charlotte, North Carolina. This, I know which one this is. It's 10 minutes from my house. I've been there.
So it is basically a bowling alley plus an arcade plus a bar, like kind of these modern bowling alleys.

**Mills Snell** (2:48)
Looks like really, really nice machines, like vending machines, gaming machines.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (2:53)
Yeah, it's got cool. It's a fun vibe inside. These are actual photos, which is funny. They're actual photos. The bartender is wearing a shirt with the logo of the place.
I did not have the sleuth. In case you want proof, I did not sign the NDA.

**Mills Snell** (3:13)
Is the business listed by the owner, you think?

**Bill D'Alessandro** (3:16)
I don't know.

**Mills Snell** (3:17)
There's no link to a broker. There's no headshot, so maybe.

**Bill D'Alessandro** (3:20)
Maybe. It says a proven concept, a rare opportunity. This business has 4.2 million in sales, 930K of EBITDA was established in 2017, and they're asking 3.65 million for it, so a little under four times, 3.75 times or so.
Large caveat, real estate not included in the asking price, real estate valued at just under 9 million dollars. So we got a business worth 3.6 or asking 3.6, on real estate, who knows what it's worth? We'll come back to that worth 9 million bucks. So the total package here is 12.5 million, on SD about a million bucks.
So that's like a eight cap if you're a real estate investor and you got to run the business.
So I wouldn't call this passive. But it is a rare opportunity to acquire a high performing experiential hospitality brand in one of the Southeast's most dynamic urban growth markets. I will give you that. With strong cash flow, a low customer base and a unique concept that blends entertainment, food and bev, the business is primed for scale. Buyers will see immediate value through steady profitability and brand equity plus exciting upside through untapped growth levers like events, corporate partnerships and potential for new unit development, aka franchising or expansion. Real estate is also available, often further control and long-term value. For strategic operators and investors alike, this is a turnkey opportunity to own a proven platform with real momentum. Says they have eight full-time employees, indicates key staff, part-time staff not included. So I imagine they got a lot of servers and cooks and things that may not be full-time. So eight full-time key staff. Comes with kitchen and bar equipment, AV equipment, bowling equipment, lunchroom fixtures, ops equipment, and arcade equipment. The property is located in the heart of Loso, which is a very specific lower south end neighborhood here in Charlotte. It's very obvious which one this is. It's Queen Park Social. It's on the guy's shirt. It's across from Old Mecklenburg Brewery, which is one of the most prominent craft breweries in Charlotte.

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