Bryant-Lake Bowl
 Bowling lanes at Bryant-Lake | |
| Address | 810 West Lake St. |
|---|---|
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°56′54.72″N 93°17′24.52″W / 44.9485333°N 93.2901444°W |
| Type | Restaurant, theater, and bowling alley |
| Opened | 1936 |
| Website | |
| bryantlakebowl | |
Bryant-Lake Bowl, locally nicknamed BLB, is a bowling alley, restaurant, bar, and 90-seat theatre in Uptown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Best known for its evening entertainment and Cheap Date Night specials (two meals, drinks, and a round of bowling for $28) BLB is also a reliable brunch stop. The theatre is a venue for cabaret and wide variety of other stage productions. It is a host of the annual Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Originally a garage, the building was converted into a bowling alley in 1936. In 1959, Minnesota bowling champion Bill Drouches bought the bowling alley. Kim Bartmann bought the business in 1993, restoring the building, opening a restaurant, and converting the game room into a 90-seat theatre. In 2018, Bryant-Lake Bowl was sold by Bartmann to longtime employee Erica Gilbert.[1][2]
Bryant-Lake Bowl was featured in a 2008 episode of Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri.[3] It has also been credited as inspiring the name of the band Lake Street Dive.[4]
In 2004, Bryant-Lake Bowl hosted the signing ceremony for a city ordinance making Minneapolis restaurants and bars free of tobacco smoke.[5]
In 2021, Bryant-Lake Bowl released an 87-second promotional video called Right Up Our Alley, made in one continuous shot by drone operator Jay Christensen, which went viral and garnered praise from several critics.[6]
In 2025, Bryant-Lake Bowl was named fourth-best bowling alley in the United States in a Newsweek readers' poll.[7]
The bar's theater hosts regular shows by theater companies and musicians. Several live albums have been recorded there, including Dan Wilson's 1998 Dan Wilson Live @ Bryant Lake Bowl,[8] Oddjobs' Live! at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, 17–18 August 2001,[9] and Koerner, Ray & Glover's 1996 album One Foot in the Groove.[10]
References
- ^ "About Us". bryantlakebowl.com. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Nelson, Rick (October 24, 2018), "Bryant-Lake Bowl, a Lyn-Lake landmark, is changing hands", Star Tribune, Minneapolis
- ^ "Totally Unexpected". Food Network. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Tribune, Jon Bream Star. "Lake Street Dive singer will bring her 'quieter' band to Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Crisp, Lacey (July 28, 2004), "Minneapolis OKs smoking ban", The Minnesota Daily, Minneapolis and St. Paul
- ^ Ives, Mike (March 11, 2021), "A Drone Went Bowling. Hollywood Noticed.", The New York Times, New York
- ^ "Best Bowling Alley". Newsweek. June 19, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
- ^ "Dan Wilson Live @ Bryant Lake Bowl". Dan Wilson. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ^ Swihart, Stanton. "Live at the Bryant Lake Bowl - Oddjobs". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Trehus, Mark (1996). One Foot In The Groove (Media notes). Koerner, Ray & Glover.
External links