Bowling alley owners named

CELINA- New owners will reopen longstanding Plaza Bowling Lanes in Celina after the business's soon-to-be former owners announced its closure less than a month ago.

Carl and Michele Huber and Justin Eckhardt, all of Celina, will purchase the bowling alley, which will operate under the same name, that closed and was put up for sale earlier this month, according to a post on Plaza Bowling Lanes' Facebook page.

Owners Mary and Ron Cisco closed the business on Aug. 5 and intend to retire following its sale. Their son Gary and his wife Ashley, who helped manage the bowling alley, plan to move on from it, per a company social media post.

"As many indicated on social media and throughout the community, this loss was seen as a significant hit to Celina and its residents," a Plaza Bowling Lanes' Facebook post states. "After much thought, two local families with a passion for both their hometown of Celina and the sport of bowling have made the joint commitment to reopen Plaza Bowling Lanes in September. It is with great pleasure that the new owners, Carl and Michele Huber and Justin Eckhardt, announce their taking over of the longstanding tradition of providing Celina with a top-notch family-oriented atmosphere for their enjoyment."

Michele Huber said she and her husband decided to purchase the business because their daughters are on Celina's high school bowling team and her husband helps coach the girl's bowling team.

"Both of our families, the Huber family and the Eckhardt family actually have daughters that bowl for the Varsity Celina team," she said. "We have Brynly Huber, who is a sophomore and then Justin has Ryann Eckhardt, who's a sophomore. Carl coaches for the varsity girls (team) along with Josh Goff and then Justin already ran the Saturday morning kids league. They were very involved already on different levels, coaching and then as parents."

Michele Huber added the lanes are being renovated with some updates to its flooring, furniture and menu.

"We are in the process of finalizing the financing (for the purchase)," she said. "It's a little unique because my husband and I are also purchasing the plaza that it resides in. That's a separate situation, so that's taking a little while. The Ciscos have agreed to go ahead and let us put the money down and go ahead and open the plaza back up while we finish that process because if we don't open, then leagues can't happen. High school bowling can't happen. They've been very, very generous to allow us to get in there and get going."

She said the group hopes to hold a soft opening around Sept. 3.

"We hope the community understands like we're not going to really be able to open with a full-size menu because we'll have a lot of new staff members," Michele Huber said. "But we are hoping we can open both the bowling and the restaurant at the same time."

She said they plan to also offer various family-themed events for locals who perhaps can't commit to a league but still want to come in and bowl a few games.

For updates on the bowling alley, go to www.facebook.com/plazabowling.lanes.