After much anticipation, the four-lane Sunset Lanes bowling center opened in mid-January 2024 at the Sunset Terrace Restaurant & Lounge at Janss Marketplace, 235 Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.

I had the good fortune to be walking by on apparently the first night of soft opening. No one was there. I was alone. So I had to give it a try.

The cost is $60 per hour, up to six bowlers per lane, plus the cost of renting shoes. Years ago I told myself I need to buy a pair of bowling shoes and put them in my trunk. I never did.

In any case, I thought, since it’s just me, I’ll just bowl for 30 minutes, which I did. I got a total of 2 1/2 games in. They have nice selection of bowling balls. I was actually impressed by how many they had on hand for just a four-lane alley.

The only thing I did not like is that the approach felt too short. There’s a table behind the lanes that I’d prefer to have a couple feet back. But I made due. It just felt like I was not able to take long enough steps in my approach. But I adjusted.

The latest trend in bowling alleys is the pins attached to strings. After you bowl, the machine lifts all the pins, then places back the pins that were not knocked down. To me, while it does not have the same feel and sound of traditional pin setting machines, it didn’t impact my bowling that much. I’m terrible at bowling, regardless. Pins on strings saves quite a bit in operational costs and repairs compared to traditional bowling, so I suspect this trend is here to stay.

Overall, this is an awesome addition to our local community. Some will complain, “it’s only four lanes,” to which I’ll reply, “it’s better than NO lanes!” Looking for something fun to do nearby…this is a great new option.

sunsetterracerestaurant.com