Hereford bowling alley rebranded five months after fire

A HEREFORD bowling alley has been taken over by a national chain five months after a fire broke out.

TGS Bowling in Station Approach has been bought by Garland Leisure and rebranded 1st Bowl Hereford.

Garland Leisure, which started in 2010, now runs 36 bowling alleys around the UK.

Company founder Mehdi Afshar said he was attracted to Hereford after being offered the freehold and business.

He said all staff have kept their jobs throughout the takeover.

Mr Afshar said: “Because of the fire earlier this year we’re having some refurbishment done which should be finished by the end of October.”

Fire broke out at the bowling alley on May 5.

The bowling lanes were not affected, but the blaze did cause damage to the roof, bar area, storage rooms and toilets.

Comments(8)

ad47uk says...
10:56pm Sun 21 Oct 12

So another large faceless company takes over a small local one. no doubt prices will go up and we will be told about the new improvements. No point if you can't afford to go.

silentbull says...
10:27am Mon 22 Oct 12

I find it too expensive now
So there's no chance of me going there

ArmadilloSackRace says...
10:29am Mon 22 Oct 12

Hope they don't mess with the place too much. TGS has much more character than other bowling places. Would be a shame if they didn't keep it as it is now. Also hope they don't stop the sunday night quiz nights. A fantastic amount of effort is put into that and it's great fun

lisajoanne says...
5:23pm Mon 22 Oct 12

We are lucky that the bowl is open, I heard through the grapevine that it was going to be closed down for good as the owner was not interested in investing. I am going to go with my kids anyway!

ad47uk says...
9:53pm Mon 22 Oct 12

lisajoanne wrote:
We are lucky that the bowl is open, I heard through the grapevine that it was going to be closed down for good as the owner was not interested in investing. I am going to go with my kids anyway!
it have never been that good, the place been falling down for years.

I used to go with my brothers and sister every week, but we stopped as it was a bit pricey, we decided to go every month, which we did for a while, but then it just stopped.

If this new owner do some work to the place and not raise the prices then it may do ok. there is very little in this city as it is, apart from pubs and clubs and I am too old for clubs.

We will see what happens, but it is still a shame that as I said above a large faceless company have taken over.

lisajoanne says...
11:05pm Mon 22 Oct 12

How do you mean a faceless company? If this company had not come along then it would of been another empty building and lots of jobs lost, and surely Hereford would not have wanted that

BarWars says...
1:37pm Tue 23 Oct 12

ArmadilloSackRace wrote:
Hope they don't mess with the place too much. TGS has much more character than other bowling places. Would be a shame if they didn't keep it as it is now. Also hope they don't stop the sunday night quiz nights. A fantastic amount of effort is put into that and it's great fun
Thank you for your kind words about the quiz I prepare weekly for TGS (now 1st Bowl) I can reassure you the new owner is keen to keep the quiz running and l’ll happily continue to do it!

Although TGS does have a new owner the previous management team remain in place and they are planning to lower prices and try and stay 'local' in spirit.

They have quite a few ideas in the pipeline and in the next few weeks there should be some great offers for Herefordshire’s 10-Pin bowlers.

Those of you commenting about the upkeep of the place will also like to know that the bowling lanes will all be resurfaced & restored in the next few months.

Hereford has a bold future ahead with the Enterprise Zone and Cattle Market redevelopment, 1st Bowl Hereford intends to be part of that future!

Hugh-G-Rection says...
3:54pm Tue 23 Oct 12

I always spend my hard earned benefits here

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