Wauconda Bowl wants to expand - outdoors

If you want to have a beer outside in Wauconda, you don’t go to Wauconda Bowl — a night life reality the 8-lane bowling alley wants to change.

Owner Lori Kmiecik has fenced off a 1,760-square-foot section of pavement outside the tavern, a fixture on Route 176 since the 1940s. Now, she is asking village trustees to permit outdoor drinking, smoking and beanbag and horseshoe tournaments.

On Tuesday, the village board raised some concerns about the plan before asking for a more detailed presentation at which neighbors could weigh in. The bowling alley, at 381 W. Liberty St., backs up to residential Bangs Street.

Police Chief Doug Larsson told trustees Kmiecik had initially expressed interest in a permit that would allow patrons to smoke and drink outside. The new fenced enclosure, however, is more than four times the maximum size allowed for an outdoor smoking lounge.

Instead, Larrson said, the bowling alley is now pursuing an outdoor liquor license that would allow for outdoor bar service and late-night music that could affect neighbors.

Mike Krumsee, the bowling alley’s manager, said summertime business has fallen sharply as local restaurants with outdoor bars have grown increasingly popular. He told trustees there are no plans to build an outdoor bar, but patrons would be allowed to bring drinks outside, under the proposal. He said the bowling alley was open to restrictions on music.

Despite Krumsee’s assurance that it would be little more than a low-key beer garden, there was concern the liquor license would allow for a more disruptive venue under a future owner.

“It’s the unforeseen consequences that we try to foresee,” village attorney Rudolph F. Magna said.

Trustee Doug Buster said adding an outdoor capacity of 140 people may necessitate more parking. Trustee Linda Starkey asked for the bowling alley to put its exact plans into writing and return to the board at a later date.

“From the police department’s perspective, they’ve been a good business,” Larsson said. “We’ve had very few incidents.”

An outdoor addition seems to have been in the works for some time. The Wauconda Bowl website touts an outdoor “smoking/beer garden” as its “new addition for 2009.”