SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock Lanes is being reopened after more than two years of non-operation.

The 12-lane bowling house will take on a new look as Coffaro’s Pizza is relocating its Main Street store to the Slippery Rock Lanes location.

Rob Coffaro, a 1997 Slippery Rock University graduate who grew up in the Warren area, owns the pizzeria and bought the bowling facility.

“My original interest was in getting the property,” Coffaro said. “This location is much more accessible for my restaurant. On Main Street, the parking wasn’t very good. It wasn’t convenient for my customers to pick up their pizza.

“This property has all kinds of parking. And I’ve had interest in the bowling alley for a long time. ... It was just too much for me to take on until now.”

Coffaro graduated from SRU with a sports management degree and carried a 190 average when bowling in a league as a teenager.

He admitted he has little knowledge of how to run a bowling house.

“I don’t know anything about the equipment, how it works or what kind of shape it’s in,” he said. “I’m going to learn as I go.”

Coffaro’s Pizza is scheduled to open Friday with a grand opening slated for March 24. The bowling lanes will not be in operation until a few weeks later.

“There won’t be any leagues at first,” Coffaro said. “I don’t want to be held to a standard I’m not quite ready for. The bowling will be available for families and fun.”

“If I don’t need all 12 lanes, I’ll keep only the ones I do need in operation. Hopefully, though, we’ll use them all.”

Because the bowling facility has not been used in more than two years, Coffaro does not know how much equipment is in need of repair.

Mark Kuhn, a baseball teammate in a Pittsburgh league who works on The Meadows Lanes in Washington County, will check on the condition of the Slippery Rock Lanes equipment.

“Mark has been in the bowling business a long time and he said he’ll help me out for a while. He’ll be my go-to guy, someone I can get answers from on that stuff,” Coffaro said. “He works full-time at The Meadows, so if certain lanes can’t be used for a while, I’ll keep the others open until they can get fixed.”

Coffaro said his main motivation in reopening the bowling house is to “provide the community and students with something fun to do in town.

“There aren’t many places around to just hang out.”

The nearest bowling facility to Slippery Rock Lanes is Bowl O Drome in Grove City.