Bowling Bonanza

Local entrepreneur launches ‘world’s first mobile bowling alley’ during pandemic.
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lane-changer Terence Jackson’s idea of a mobile bowling alley outfitted inside an 18-wheeler truck bed began in 2019. He started hosting parties lastJune and plans to add a second truck.
Lane Changer – Terence Jackson’s idea of a mobile bowling alley outfitted inside an 18-wheeler truck bed began in 2019. He started hosting parties last June and plans to add a second truck. // Courtesy of Luxury Strike Bowling

Ever wish you had a bowling alley at your house or in the parking lot of your business? Entrepreneur Terence Jackson can make it happen with Luxury Strike Bowling, a mobile bowling alley.

Jackson invested his life savings — about $350,000 — into the concept of a mobile bowling alley and quickly doubled his investment, thanks in no small part to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered many entertainment and recreation activities in the spring and summer of 2020.

“When we launched, there wasn’t any entertainment available,” Jackson says. “There were so many restrictions. It propelled my business and opened a new lane for entertainment.”

Jackson filled that empty lane with a pair of scaled-down bowling alleys made to fit inside a 53-foot-long semitrailer. All that’s required of the customer is a reasonably level surface. The lanes, pins, and balls are custom-made and smaller than regulation, in order to fit in the trailer. Other features include automatic pin setting, ball return, and scoring.

In addition, the trailer features a sky loft for entertaining up to 15 people. The space is equipped with top-of-the-line Harmon Kardon sound and multimedia systems, a big screen, and lighting specifically designed to supply nearly any environment a customer desires.

In all, Luxury Strike Bowling offers 500 square feet of temperature-controlled space set up to provide comfortable entertainment all year long. 

“It took a lot of planning to do something like this,” Jackson says. “I sold all my property (including a couple of condos), and cashed in my life savings to make it happen.”

Jackson is no stranger to vehicle conversions. His previous enterprise, Prolific Customs, did custom conversions of party buses, tool trucks, and other vehicles.

“It’s all about exclusivity and the convenience of having our services at your home or desired location,” Jackson says of the success of his mobile bowling alley. “The audience has been really receptive. We did awesome last year and actually had to turn people away because we were so booked.”

Customers within a 30-mile radius of Luxury Strike’s Southfield home base pay from $500 for two hours to $1,800 for eight hours for the mobile lanes. Although most of his customers are hosting home parties and birthday celebrations, Jackson says “we even did a wedding where the couple wanted the novelty factor.”

Jackson is so convinced that the popularity of the Luxury Strike Bowling concept will continue post-pandemic, he says he plans to have a second mobile bowling alley come online this year.