Hacker News Reader

Comment by walrus01 | Hacker News Reader

> My family and I bought an abandoned 8-lane bowling center in the rural mid-west. In our small town there weren't many recreation options for families. You've heard of a food desert? This is an R&R desert.

On a topic not exactly related to the implementation of the ESP32 and hardware, what other R&R activities can one add to a bowling alley to make such a facility more popular and attractive for the locals? It would be very interesting to see some photos of your facility and what you've done with it since you bought it.

View on HN

> On a topic not exactly related to the implementation of the ESP32 and hardware, what other R&R activities can one add to a bowling alley to make such a facility more popular and attractive for the locals?

Pinball seems to be having a bit of a renaissance in some areas

Having grown up in a small midwest town in an R&R desert, I think the canonical answer is a liquor license.

I've always wondered about these when I see bars in tiny towns in rural parts of WA, OR, ID because the only way to get home is to drive drunk (I seriously doubt that the locals are organizing designated drivers for carloads of intoxicated people, and no taxi services exist). It seems they just take a gamble on not crashing and not getting caught by the local law enforcement.

Having grown up in a town of about 5000 people and 3 bars, yes this is what people did for the most part. I'm sure it's different depending on where you're at. Sometimes a DD actually will drive everyone especially since most people are less than 10 minutes away.

Yes. I live in a rural area. The two closest businesses (within 5 miles) are bars. IIRC, both have tie rails so you can ride your horse there. The horse will know the way home, so you just have to stay onboard.

Wife used to be a bartender (somewhere else) and one of the regulars usually showed up on a tractor because he had lost his license. She once fit 3 people plus herself in my 2-seater car as their sober cab.

Sadly, here in the midwest, people driving drunk in small towns is not particularly noteworthy. You learn to be extra careful driving past the bars late at night.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com