Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Flour Bluff bowling: Slow traffic, lanes closed

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Tuesday, June 1, 1999

Flour Bluff bowling: Slow traffic, lanes closed
Also, Hollywood Video expanding, County Line BBQ closes

Bowlers in Flour Bluff will have to enjoy their pastime somewhere else now. That's because AMF shut the doors to its 40-lane Island Bowl center for good Sunday night.
   Richmond, Va.-based AMF, the world's largest operator of bowling centers, still operates three bowling centers in Corpus Christi. The company bought Hilltop Lanes on Interstate 37 last year.
   AMF hasn't announced plans for the Island Bowl building, 1601 Flour Bluff Drive. The center opened in 1984 as SuperBowl and was purchased by AMF in 1987.
   "At one time, we were so busy we had a waiting list on Friday and Saturday nights, but it's dwindled down since then," said Tina Turilli, an off-and-on employee since the lanes opened 15 years ago.
   Hollywood Video expanding
   Hollywood Video will open two new Corpus Christi stores over the next two months.
   The company is building an 8,000-square-foot store at Portairs shopping center on Ayers Street, scheduled to open in July, and a 6,000-square-foot store at Saratoga Boulevard at Weber Road that's due to open in June.
   Robb Garner, district manager for Hollywood Video's Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Valley district, said the new stores are part of ongoing expansion for the Portland, Ore.-based chain, which now ranks No. 2 behind Blockbuster Video.
   Hollywood Video operates four stores in Corpus Christi and one in Kingsville.
   The chain debuted here in 1994 when it bought H-E-B's Video Central chain.
   County Line closed
   Austin's best-known barbecue chain, County Line, has shut down its restaurant in Corpus Christi. The restaurant closed May 16 after a 13-year run.
   General manager Mike Miller said business had tailed off and the 34-year-old building was in need of repairs, so County Line decided it was time to pull out.
   The building has been sold and will be converted into another restaurant, Miller said.
   Before County Line moved in, the single-story building with a 200-foot glass wall offering a panorama of the bay was best known as the second location for a longtime established restaurant called Ship Ahoy.
   County Line continues to operate a dozen other restaurants in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado.



, On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Jeffrey Tomich at tomichj@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.