Fire closes Coquina Lanes 'until further notice'


Coquina Lanes, the home bowling alley for Flagler's two high school bowling teams, will be closed due to a fire.
Coquina Lanes, the home bowling alley for Flagler's two high school bowling teams, will be closed due to a fire.
  • Palm Coast Observer
  • News
  • Share

Coquina Lanes — Palm Coast’s bowling alley — will be closed until further notice due to an electrical fire that occurred on Tuesday, according to officials.

General Manager Mike Weller confirmed Wednesday that a fire broke out in a circuit box in a storage room Tuesday. The fire was not in the bowling alley portion of the building.

According to real estate reporter Toby Tobin, a fire sprinkler was activated, and a portion of the building sustained smoke damage.

The bowling alley was closed Wednesday morning.

Tobin also confirmed that the current owners — an investment group — foreclosed on the property 10 days ago. The owner, Steve Blaha, was to be evicted on Wednesday morning, Tobin said.

Because of the fire, there is no power at the bowling alley.

“As soon as they can get the circuit box replaced/repaired, the investors plan to bring someone else in to operate the bowling alley,” Tobin said. “Their intention was for it to never go dark. It’s only dark because of the fire.”

With the bowling alley being closed, the two high school bowling teams will have to wait and see what happens, said Matanzas High School Athletics Director Kenny Seybold.

Matanzas was scheduled to have a home meet Wednesday, but it has since been canceled, Seybold said. Both FPC and Matanzas don’t bowl at home for another week, and so Seybold said they will wait and see what happens.

“It impacts us in a huge way,” he said.

But beyond impacting the high school teams, Seybold said a long-term closure of the bowling alley is unfortunate for Flagler County.

“It’s an icon, in my opinion, in this community,” he said.

 

Latest News

×

Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning local news.