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Taylor Connell ran to get a bowling ball from one of Apex Entertainment’s bowling machines. As soon as she grabbed the ball, she slung it down the alley to get her mother’s attention.

Samantha Connell smiled back at her daughter. She’s brought her family to bowl at Apex ever since the facility opened in December 2018. She’s doing the same now, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, because she feels that Apex is a safe space for her children to have fun.

Apex, located in Destiny USA, features an arcade, bowling alley and virtual reality games. After months of being shut down, the 55,000-square-foot facility resumed operations Oct. 7 while following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now, bowlers at Apex generally use every other lane to practice social distancing.

“Just the way they are spacing people out,” Samantha said. “We love bowling, and we did it a lot before everything got shut down.”

On a column outside of Apex’s neon light entrance is a sign telling patrons to adhere to social distancing and wear a mask. Rob Luzzi, Apex’s communication relations manager, wants the entertainment center to be both safe and fun. He came into his managerial position a week before the facility closed its doors March 16.

“My timing was impeccable,” Luzzi said.

Lacie Massard, who works at the bowling alley, gave out bowling shoes Friday night. But instead of just cleaning the inside of the shoe as she did before the pandemic, she now has to clean every part of the shoe after getting them back from customers. Massard also cleans each bowling lane after a customer uses it, and she and all other employees are mandated to wear masks.

Employees clean the whole facility, not just the bowling alleys. Apex has cut down the number of people who can participate in laser tag, and employees clean all the gear customers use.

While participating in Apex’s virtual reality gaming, customers stand on socially-distanced spots to ensure they don’t come in contact with other players. Apex employees also wipe down the virtual reality equipment after every use.

Apex’s team is following COVID-19 restrictions as it enters into the winter. Abigail Weber | Contributing Writer

But one main attraction remains closed: the arcade. A customer hasn’t touched the arcade and its over 50 games since March. The biggest concern with the arcade is that it has a high number of touchpoints where the virus could spread from customer to customer, Luzzi said.

The arcade’s machines were still on even though no one was using them, but the prize shop was still roped off.

“A lot of the games are lit up because we don’t want it to be dark out front, but the arcade’s closed,” Luzzi said.

Along with the entertainment facilities Apex’s restaurant is also following COVID-19 guidelines. Menus have been replaced with QR codes, and extra hand sanitizer and sanitary wipes are available to wipe tables and seats down.

“When we open the doors every day, we’re trying to just have people know that they can have fun, and feel safe and comfortable,” Luzzi said. “Everything else from there will take care of itself.”

Published on October 18, 2020 at 9:34 pm

aweber02@syr.edu