Brent Brown isn’t much of a bowler.
Many people aren’t, but it’s ironic in Brown’s case because he is the founder of a luxury bowling alley soon to open in Crossgates Mall.
To be fair, the 22 lanes with high-tech lighting and large screen TVs are a small part of Latitude 360. There is the sports theater, performance stage, bandstand, bar and restaurant.
Brown, who was visiting the Guilderland site Thursday, said he was working in real estate when he began to explore options for development. He considered other entertainment venues like dine-in movie theaters.
“It kind of evolved. I was interested in the renaissance of bowling,” he said. “I’m not a bowler but I started to take a look at it. I really focused on the restaurant first and a target market of 25- to 65-year-olds.”
Other bowling alleys cater to kids, he said, and the adults just come along to accompany them.
“We love children. We are cross-generational,” he said. “I can come in on a Saturday afternoon and see three generations on a family outing. Saturday night, I can see two generations on a double date.”
The Crossgates Mall operation will be the fourth in the chain, though two more are also under construction. Five others are planned in urban markets. He also has signed a deal to bring the brand to the Middle East.
Brown sees his operation as a way for malls to evolve.
“Retail has changed forever, and a lot of your big retailers, your anchor stores, are closing their brick and mortars due to online sales,” he said. “There has got to be an anchor to fill that space. What you can’t get online is an entertainment experience. The customer today is difficult. Millennials are difficult. They want an experience.”
Latitude 360 will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. While it will not have its own external entrance, a new addition to the mall is being built with an entrance opposite Latitude 360. His venue’s name, as well as those of other restaurants, will be outside.
Announced a year ago, the entertainment site’s opening has been delayed twice. Brown said it should open in May, and he plans in two weeks to take down the barrier that blocks mall visitors’ views so people can begin to get a peek of what’s coming. Employees will then set up in the outermost area of the 50,000-square-foot space to begin taking event reservations and memberships.
When you enter the cavernous space, the first sight will be a sports theater where three giant screen televisions will show games. Each screen can show up to 4 events at a time. The room can also be rented.
“It’s great for a corporate presentation or a Little League sports banquet,” he said, with highlights of the season shown on the screens.
The next stop is the chain’s eatery, 360 Grill, which will have the largest wood stone pizza oven you can get. Glass windows will enable diners to watch the food being prepared.
A large stage off in its own room will feature comedy shows and other performances and can also be rented for events. High-definition recording equipment will enable people to get a disc featuring the night’s events.
A smaller stage near the bar area will be where live bands play. There will be an arcade as well.
Brown said his aim is to capture some of the growing upscale audience that wants to go out to eat and be entertained.
“That’s the market I go after,” he said. “That’s why bowling isn’t in our name. It’s meant to be a dining experience. Anything I designed, I designed it so you can eat and drink.”
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