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Designer of Love Lane Market hopes to build entertainment center

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | The vacant and half-built bowling center was sold this year by Bank of Smithtown, which had foreclosed on the property.

Two local businessmen are preparing to breathe some life into the vacant, half-built bowling alley just west of Route 105 and Main Road in Riverhead.

Christopher Smith of Laurel, the designer of Love Lane Market in Mattituck, and business partner Jeffrey Rimland will be applying this week for building permits to begin interior construction on the project. The partners, operating under Mr. Rimland’s business, Main Road Holdings, hope to open for business this summer.

Demolition of some unneeded partitions will start the process. Once completed, the bowling alley will be an all-out entertainment complex that will include 22 open bowling lanes, an arcade for kids and a sports bar and restaurant for adults. Six additional lanes will be rented out for private occasions and have a separate dining area.

“This is going to be a full-service entertainment complex geared toward both families and single people,” Mr. Smith said.

While there will not be a stage or designated area for music, there will be space in the building to accommodate any size band, he said.

Mr. Smith is not only part owner of the project, but the architect and designer of the so far unnamed bowling alley.

There won’t be any specific theme to the complex, he said, but it will be what’s called “industrial chic” to complement the existing structure.

“My vision for this place is as a place for people to go for lunch, dinner or a late night,” Mr. Smith said, “We want to attract bowling leagues and possibly school teams … We want to cater to everybody, including corporations.”

In February, the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency approved the company’s requests for tax abatements and other incentives to open the bowling alley.

Mr. Smith said he had urged Mr. Rimland to purchase the foreclosed property from Bank of Smithtown more than a year ago, and the two have been business partners since.

“As a local resident with two small kids, I see this as a huge market needed here on the North Fork. We have plans to meet a broader entertainment demand once we are up and running,” Mr. Smith said. “This is only the beginning.”

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