Cherry Hill's Baker Lanes still an original

The pink neon marquee that announces Baker Lanes, off Cuthbert Boulevard, is original. It has hung over the entrance to the Cherry Hill bowling alley since 1958.

Inside, the employees who chase stray pins, oil the lanes, and tinker with the machines have been there nearly as long.

While some bowling houses in the region have converted to retro-chic lounges and more have gone out of business, Baker Lanes is a relic with old-school charm and loyal customers.

"This is home to me," said Bea Rowand, 85, of Audubon, Camden County, who plays almost daily.

As the number of bowling leagues has dwindled, the family that has run Baker for 52 years has struggled to keep up with the changing business.

Manager Dan Santone, 83, has made piecemeal renovations with the help of daughter Gloria Jean Esbrandt and the alley's longtime mechanic, Jimmie Seibert. They've painted the building facade and replaced half the 52 lanes with the synthetic flooring that has become the industry standard, a $40,000 investment. When there's more money, LCD screens will replace the old scoreboard monitors.

The new restaurant operators at the alley, Denise Rubba and Sandy DiCarlo, cook the roast beef and turkey for sandwiches themselves and prepare the hamburger patties - nothing frozen here.

With the start last week of Wednesday family nights that offer $1 games and homemade pizza for $7.99, Santone hopes to cash in on the demand for cheap entertainment in tough times. The alley needs the business.

"We're not making money, that's for sure," he said.

Santone has managed the alley Baker Lanes since his brother-in-law, Tom Baker, opened it. Esbrandt and her mother helped at the snack bar. When Baker died in 1988, his wife, Jane, a prominent community member who also owned throroughbred horses, took over. She died in December, and her heirs, including two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews, now own the property.

Games back then cost $1 for three, and leagues from Campbell Soup and RCA kept the lanes full.

Today, the alley is hardly a competitor of the hip bowling houses that have popped up in the region.

Lucky Strike on Chestnut Street in Center City offers bottle service and valet parking. And Mark Platzer, former owner of the C-View Tavern in Cape May, invested almost $2 million three years ago in what was Pennsauken's Maple Bowl, an alley that a family ran for decades. He renamed it Pinsetter Bar & Bowl.

Success has come with offering more than just bowling, Platzer said.

"Ladies, when they come in here, they want to have a martini and have some hummus and pita points down at the lanes," he said.

At Baker, there are no fancy drinks - no alcohol at all, in fact, except what patrons bring in - and no cushy leather lounge chairs.

What it does have: a laid-back atmosphere, classic arcade games, and Walt Jones, the man with the easy smile who has worked behind the front desk for 21 years.

Jones - whose father, Norman, a friend of Santone's, was a fixture on the region's bowling circuit - said the alley had once had dozens of leagues, some with up to 30 teams.

Now there are about 20, and "you're lucky to see a five-team league," said Jones, 43, of Merchantville.

Though places such as Pinsetter get a party crowd, Jones said, competitive bowlers prefer quieter, less expensive alleys like Baker.

Seibert, 60, recently installed disco-style lighting over the lanes and an electronic signboard to display names of the week's top bowlers.

The Lindenwold resident worked at the alley for 15 years starting in 1969, then left to work at the Shore. He returned last year to finish his career where he started - and because Santone is like family, he said.

The industry changed while he was away. Fifteen years ago, there were 25 bowling alleys in the U.S. Bowling Association chapter that covers Camden, Gloucester and Salem Counties and part of Burlington County. Today there are 12, chapter manager Bill Luzzo said.

But Baker Lanes is in a population center, Luzzo said. As long as the operators invest in upkeep, "they'll be there another 50" years.