Charley Ryan, co-owner of Brooklyn Bowl on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg was born on the South Side of Chicago and was raised in Battle Creek, Michigan. He opened Brooklyn Bowl in 2009 with Peter Shapiro, a 23,000-square-foot ironworks foundry building which was a former abandoned warehouse. They had a dream and brought the venue to life and infused life to the area by combining live music, food by Blue Ribbon, 16 bowling lanes, stages and bars, all in one venue.
They have hosted many legendary performances, including that of Guns N’ Roses, Elvis Costello and The Roots. To date, Brooklyn Bowl has sold almost millions of tickets to thousands of shows.
Charley talks about first getting into the music industry, the unique idea to combine a bowling alley with a music venue and his role at Wetlands Preserve. Brooklyn Bowl has locations in Brooklyn, Las Vegas, Nashville, Philadelphia and has ticket-buyers in all 50 states, and 46 countries. Music venues across the world were shut down and took financial hits during the pandemic. Brooklyn Bowl was able to financially get through the pandemic and the business has changed forever.
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Produced by Jill Carvajal and Josh Schneps