Though the greater San Fernando Valley does not have a thriving bowling scene, one Woodland Hills establishment is clinging to the idea that consumers will loosen their wallets and spend freely now that the economy is on the mend. Bowlero Woodland Hills, formerly known as AMF Woodlake Lanes, has recently undergone a $1.5 million renovation in hopes of rolling with more bowlers. “The whole property had not been updated in quite some time and the fact that (Woodland Hills) is a considerable market made it an obvious choice to upgrade,” said Nick Scaccio, L.A. manager of New York-based Bowlmor AMF Corp., owner of Bowlero. Renovations have been underway for the past six months and executives plan to unveil the 30,000-square-foot retro-modern center at a grand opening March 10, followed by a family game night March 12. The 55-year-old facility has changed with the remodel, so it’s now more of an entertainment center rather than just a place to bowl. The facelift includes a new bar featuring hand-crafted cocktails, a state-of-the-art arcade with more than 30 interactive games and 32 bowling lanes – each accented by a floor-to-ceiling video wall at the end of the lane. Also, Bowlero will debut its Go Crazy menu options at the grand opening. The menu, developed by chef Edward Porter, a winner on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Game,” will provide a variety of grab-and-go food options – including megapretzels, 2-foot-long hot dogs, a mammoth-size burger and desserts. “The Bowlero brand is more along the lines of bowling and a bar,” Scaccio said. “Things are sharable and prices aren’t intrusive.” Bowlero’s name change and facelift came as the result of a 2013 strategic merger in which Strike Holdings, which operated the Bowlmor brand, and AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc. combined operations and assets, totaling $450 million in revenue and 272 national bowling centers. Bowlmor AMF Corp. now owns and operates more than 300 domestic bowling facilities as well as eight locations in Mexico and three in Canada. The company is also rebranding and renovating its Westchester location at 8731 Lincoln Blvd., which has been closed for several months and will reopen in April as Bowlero Los Angeles. The company is also adding a vintage arcade to its existing Bowlmor Santa Monica facility, which will open in about a month. “I think the Woodland Hills location will continue to do really well,” Scaccio said. “Between the aesthetic offering and the newly designed food and cocktail menu, I think we’ll do pretty well.” Aldi Expands Discount grocer Aldi Inc. is bringing its brand to California this year, with plans to open two Valley stores by July. The Batavia, Ill.-based supermarket chain already has hundreds of locations nationwide, and announced plans to open 45 California stores – including one in Palmdale at 740 W. Rancho Vista Blvd. and one in Simi Valley at 425 Cochran St. The chain’s move into California is part of a strategy to expand coast to coast and open 650 stores nationwide by the end of 2018. At present, the company operates 1,500 stores in 32 states. Aldi’s parent company, Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co. of Essen, Germany, was founded in 1948. On a global scale, the company has 9,200 locations worldwide. “We’ve been selling groceries in the U.S. for 40 years, growing deliberately and steadily throughout the country,” Gordon Nesbit, Aldi’s Moreno Valley division president, said in a statement. “We are confident once Southern California shoppers get to know us, they’ll come to love us.” Still, California is a tough market to crack. Recently, Haggen Food & Pharmacy left 83 stores in the state up for grabs after the Bellingham, Wash., grocer failed to penetrate the market with its high-end offerings. U.K. retail giant Tesco also struggled after arriving in Southern California with the Fresh & Easy chain in 2007. Tesco later sold the chain and the stores closed last year. Brian Gabler, economic development director for Simi, said that while the city welcomes the addition to its retail mix, Aldi will have to work to understand California’s complex market. “Simi Valley has seen its fair share of changes in the grocery industry – from the shifting of three Vons and Albertsons locations to Haggen stores, to the bankruptcy of Haggen, and then the acquisition of the Haggen stores by Stater Bros., Smart & Final and Sprouts. All in all, the city has fared well through each transition,” Gabler said in an email to the Business Journal. “That said, it will be incumbent upon Aldi to understand each individual market where its stores are located and to adapt to the needs of those consumers.” Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].