Hurst's only bowling alley closes

By Terry Evans

tevans@star-telegram.com

HURST -- The only bowling alley the town has ever known is closed.

"This is like having to move away from home," said Joy Murrell, who was manager of AMF Hurst Lanes for a decade and has been bowling there for 35 years.

The bowling center that's been at 720 W. Pipeline Road since Sept. 16, 1960, feels like home to a lot of Northeast Tarrant County residents who still call it Hurst Bowl.

Gayle Layne, who took over as manager when Murrell retired two years ago, said she decided to retire after the bowling alley closed on Sunday.

"I'm gonna put my feet up and laugh at everybody."

Repeated calls and emails to AMF corporate offices were not returned, but a phone message at the bowling alley says it is closed.

Layne said the employees were told two weeks ago that Sunday would be the last day.

Layne said her Wednesday night doubles league, the Crazy Devils, is shifting to AMF Euless Lanes to finish the season.

Likewise, the two senior leagues and one Saturday league that Murrell bowls with are moving almost five miles east to the Euless bowling center that most of the bowlers still call Showplace.

After that, who knows?

"I'll move to Showplace in Euless," said Wes Yarbrough, who's been bowling in leagues at Hurst Lanes since 1968. "At least 80 percent of the people will go to Showplace. We'll just have to take it. Nobody hates it worse than me."

But casual bowlers are upset, too.

Tracy and Greg Mikus were reminded of how much fun they had at Hurst Bowl as they helped out Wednesday on a field trip with their son's daycare group.

"I was just thinking how we needed a family night, and this would be perfect," Tracy Mikus said. "Then I found out that it's closing. I was shocked."

Greg Mikus said he and his buddies hung out Hurst Bowl a lot when he was younger, especially when he was a student at L.D. Bell High School.

"I hate to see it go," he said. "It's like losing a part of my childhood."

The closure came as a surprise to Hurst officials, said city spokeswoman Ashleigh Whiteman.

"Our economic development director said that he met with the manager in the last six months and everything seemed fine," she said.

From the city's standpoint, it's a sad thing when any business closes, Whiteman said.

"But especially one that has such a rich history in Hurst," she said. "It's been a staple of that shopping center for decades."

Terry Evans, (817) 390-7620

Twitter: @fwstevans

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