COVER STORY
S R A E Y 6 0 1 R O F N W O D M E H T G N I K C O N K oit r t e D n owl i B n e d r e Ga h T t a y unit m m o c ting Cultiva
By Evan Henerson
D
etroit’s most historic center – also one of the nation’s oldest - is a majestic place. That’s not hot air. The 106-year-old Garden Bowl Detroit is part of The Majestic complex on Woodward Avenue that also includes two night clubs, a restaurant and, yes, the legendary Majestic Theatre. The fact that a visitor can dine, rock, imbibe, and bowl at the establishment run by the Zainea family is a testament to the family’s personality, grit, love of bowling, and one other key factor: “Perseverance,” said patriarch Joe Zainea. “I take great pride in the fact that we persevered.” In the 73 years that his family has owned and operated The Garden Bowl in the city’s midtown area, Joe, aka Papa Joe, has witnessed change within the industry as well as social and economic change with racial unrest, and the
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COVER STORY deleterious effects of African American and Polish clientele fleeing for the suburbs. Now 85, Zainea continues to keep an eye on the business’s finances while his son Dave is the center’s general manager, and Dave’s brother, Joe serves up a mean pizza at the center’s Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizzeria and Deli. Dave also uses the word perseverance. The Garden Bowl and the Majestic Detroit have seen their clientele come and go based on area redevelopment and the whim of industry trends. When the sport or the region changes, a proprietor has to evolve, and The Garden Bowl has done just that. The Zaineas will take on a new challenge at a very different venue; they will reopen Bowlero Lanes and Lounge in nearby Royal Oak in spring of 2019. “There’s a lot of trying new things, throwing things at the wall,” said Dave. “A lot of things don’t stick, but “Papa J some things do. We just made bowling a little more oe” cele brating of a unique opportunity — the whole environment the cen tury ma rk of Th between music, the flair of being downtown and the e Gard en Bow diversity of our area. I think the historical relevance of our l in 201 3 lanes on the first place helps, too. I think it builds a good brand for us.” floor, 12 upstairs and bookies Rock-n-Bowl has become a venue staple and the in the basement,” Papa Joe recalled. “They music is always playing somewhere in and around the had a hallway that led to commercial stores in front, Majestic. With an assortment of bands taking the stage theaters, and nickelodeons. Not too many women bowled at both the 1,200-seat Majestic and the 800-seat here at that time.” Magic Stick, concert-goers may start their evening at Papa Joe is the family historian and a frequent writer of The Garden Bowl or end up there for a post-show articles about both the Zainea family business and the history match. Needless to say, it’s a somewhat different and color of the region. The Zainea patriarch is a natural configuration and client makeup than when the raconteur and the stories (“I could write a thousand of them, family first took over. even today”) spill out of him like motor oil over thirsty gears. “When my dad bought this place in 1946, it was 10 He talks about the single room hotels (SROs) that housed the General Motors factory workers; the more than one million
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COVER STORY people who lived within a implemented a Learn to Bowl program that three mile radius of the brought in new customers who, after they bowling center; the men learned the skill, would later become instructors who took their meals at The and then start building leagues out of their Garden Recreation and classes. bowled in the evenings. He In the summer of 1967,The Garden Bowl recounts the end of World War provided a front row seat to the five day II and the exodus to the Detroit race rebellion. As the city raged and suburbs, upwardly-mobile men burned, the Zaineas offered The Garden and women relocating up Base Bowl as a haven for law enforcement, fire Line, also known as 8 Mile Road. department, National Guard and The a e in “Everybody should aspire to Salvation Army. “Needless to say,” Papa a Z e av Joe,” and D be on a higher mile road so they Joe wrote in an article remembering the Joe, “Papa could prove their upward mobility rebellion, “our buildings were well protected.” A in life, and that’s what happened,” year later, Detroit residents of all colors shared the streets to Papa Joe said. “The Levittowns celebrate the Tigers winning the 1968 World Series. were torn down and nicer homes were built. Our Polish Patrons who come through the doors of The Garden Bowl are customers started leaving, and we had a terrible time. We greeted by an employee with a smile. It’s the Zainea way.“We would ask, ‘Why are you leaving? You’re friends of ours. teach our employees what my father taught me,” Papa Joe said. We go to your clubs, we go to the same church.’ They had “You look at everybody who comes through that front door and to leave. They were moving on up.” make an intuitive judgment. Do you want him or do you not want In the 1960s, The Garden Bowl began courting the him? Stare him in the eyes and don’t blink. If you don’t want him, African American population. The Zaineas offered The Garden Bowl as a place for church fundraisers and Continued on page 38...
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COVER STORY ...continued from page 34
just lower your voice and say, ‘Can I help you, Sir?’ if you want him, put a smile on your face and joyfully say, ‘Can I help you, sir or ma’am?’ That’s how we continue to do it.” Like his father, Dave also has memories dating back to boyhood. The Garden Bowl may have been a place where people came to have fun – a place that felt like a veritable playground for a pre-teen, but it was also a place where you rolled up your sleeves and pitched in. “I was working there from when I was 10 years old, cleaning the center up, cleaning the parking lots, emptying the trash,” says Dave. “Whatever he told us to do, you had to do it. I built up a great work ethic at a young age, and I think it has really benefitted me now.” It was under Dave’s stewardship that The Garden Bowl became the sight of the city’s first Rock-n-Bowl concert. A group of college kids were consistently coming from Wayne State University. On a Sunday night sometime during the mid-1980s, Dave approached the students and suggested a party in the center on an upcoming Saturday night. The idea was embraced by Elizabeth Raphael, a medical student and future emergency services physician in the San Francisco Bay area, who offered to find DJs and even DJ herself. While the college students hyped up the event to their friends, Dave Zainea passed out flyers at concert venues and papered cars. And, voila, Rock-n-Bowl was born in Michigan. “You couldn’t
nt desk work the fro to s ve lo ill Zainea st “Papa Joe”
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make it with league bowling anymore, so that saved our business,” said Dave “Two weeks earlier on a Friday night [before Rock-and-Bowl], we had maybe 40 or 50 people bowling. Now we’ve got 250 kids bowling and drinking and partying.” Dave remembers getting a phone call from his father the following morning. Finding the alley uncharacteristically messy after the event, Papa Joe asked his son about the mess. “I said, ‘Well, we didn’t get out of here until 4 a.m.’” Dave said. “Papa Joe is a very black and white guy. I told him, ‘Go open up the safe.’ [After checking] he said, ‘OK. Go back to bed.’ That was his way of saying, ‘All right. Nice job.’” The family that rolls together may indeed achieve goals together, but Dave admits that working with his kin isn’t always easy. “We have our moments,” he said. “We disagree, but we always support each other in the long term. We always come to a conclusion.” ❖
Evan Henerson is a features and lifestyle journalist who lives in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in TV Guide, American Theatre, Orange Coast and the Los Angeles Daily News where he was a staff writer and critic for nine years.