The former Krikorian Cinema 6 in San Clemente, which has sat empty for about eight years, is set to again entertain families and others.
A local couple is planning to turn the movie theater into a bowling alley.
But this will be no ordinary bowling alley, they said.
There will be plenty of lanes, of course. But there will also be an arcade, sports simulators and a “chef-inspired” restaurant with a bar area, and another secret speakeasy tucked away upstairs.
“Everybody I talked to about the project is super excited,” said Missy Parkin, who with her husband, Drew, hopes to have the project ready for the public by 2026. “We’re just extremely happy that we can provide this to the community, because it’s going to be great for families. It’s also going to be great for date nights, and it’s going to be a safe place for kids to go.”
Parkin is right at home with her vision, a second-generation pro bowler who was recently inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in Texas. Her father owned a bowling pro shop that sold equipment inside of a bowling center in Cerritos.
“I started bowling when I was 2 and a half years old,” the Fullerton native said with a chuckle. “I literally grew up going to his business after school, so I pretty much bowled every day.”
She started bowling professionally in 2004, just after graduating from Cal State Fullerton, where she was on the bowling team.
The couple took over her father’s pro shop business in 2011 and expanded it to 12 locations, called Parkin’s Bowling Supply. During the pandemic, they sold several of the shops and purchased a 44-lane bowling center in San Diego.
Then, just after moving to San Clemente, they sold that one to focus on this new project.
The former Krikorian theater on Camino De Los Mares was once a staple in the community. When they first looked at the property, it still had all the seating inside and it was hard to envision the building transforming into a bowling alley.
But then the building shed its movie theater trappings.
“The landlord decided to gut out the whole entire building and shell it out,” Parkin said. “Now, we could actually see a vision.”
It’s going to be “pretty awesome,” she said.
“I think it’s gonna be the most unique place that many people have ever been to, especially for an entertainment venue,” she said. “Our intention is that you’re wowed as soon as you walk in.”
It will have a huge arcade and a centralized restaurant, not with the typical bowling center cuisine like hot dogs and pizza, but a “chef-inspired” restaurant and bar area set up in a circular layout.
“It’s going to be a very elevated experience,” Parkin said.
There will be two multi-sport simulator suites that will offer golf, baseball, hockey, soccer and “projection darts,” which is a mix between regular darts and a video game, she described.
“This is going to be very different from your traditional bowling center,” Parkin said. “This is really going to be a bowling-anchored, family-entertainment center, so we’re going to offer a lot of different attractions.”
The building’s second story will be built out and have even more bowling lanes — something not commonly seen in the U.S., Parkin said — and a hidden speakeasy bar that will be for 21 years old and over.
“We’re going to have some live jazz music in there on certain nights. We’re going to have karaoke on certain nights,” she said. “We’re going to have events every night of the week inside that speakeasy.”
Most of all, Parkin said she is excited to share the sport she loves so much with other people of all ages.
Her son CJ, now 7, started when he was 1 and her dad, now 80, still bowls.
“The thing I love the most about bowling is that anybody can do it,” she said. “It’s something that, no matter what your skill level, you can go out and have fun doing it. It can bring so many people together and create so many lasting memories.”
The project got its approval from the city’s Planning Commission on May 21. Parkin said the plan is to break ground in August.