There's Nothing to Do in This Town Vol. 2: Vernon Lanes

Vernon Lanes
1575 Story Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
Phone: (502) 584-8460

A few years back I happened upon a little bowling joint in Butchertown that I figured I'd try out because I hate going to the bowling Mega-plexes in the East End, and I was really hoping that I could find something cool much closer to home. You see, I do absolutely whatever I can to avoid the East End (even though Butchertown is technically the East End). Not that there's nothing good there, but it just reeks of suburbia and makes me feel super-claustrophobic. Thankfully, I will no longer have to travel that way to fill my bowling needs because Vernon Lanes ended up being the absolute best bowling alley I've ever been to in my life.

The quick history is that Vernon Lanes is supposedly the 3rd oldest bowling alley in the country (since April 1, 1918) that started out as a men's club back in 1886. It later (1918) came to be in the spot that is holds now and it is a small 8-lane room with great food, music and atmosphere. I visited on a recent night with my roommate and walked in shortly after a ton of people just got finished filming a movie scene in there. We laced up as they were taking down the lighting props and cameras which made for a slightly surreal start to our night of bowling, but soon it was back to the same old Vernon full of color, good ball selection, and classic rock songs.

One thing I have to do whenever I go there is stock up on a cheesburger and fries because it always goes well with a few games there. The burgers are made in-house and they taste just like they would if I were to grill them at home. Nothing fancy, just a burger and cheese with a heaping dose of krinkle fries.

At times the Lanes can be crazy-packed due to the fact that it is small, and it has turned into a fairly hip place to be these days, so I definitely recommend going on a weeknight as there is usually plenty of room to put your feet up and a greater chance of having a normal conversation without screaming into your friend's ear.

In the basement of the Lanes is an enormous 500-person venue called Club Vernon where they periodically have bands play. It is an incredible room that I cannot wait to hang out in and see a show when they have one. I tried to get a picture of it, but they were closing the room up for the night and I couldn't get a good shot. Here are a few looks at the great time we had!!

I also think that it's worth noting a few of the classic tunes that were played while we were there:
The Beatles- "I'm Only Sleeping"
The Beatles- "Paperback Writer"
Tom Petty- every other song

And I will say that I have never felt so empowered than when I was stepping up to the lane and "Won't Back Down" came on. It was glorious!