Upscale Bowling Lanes Roll Into Long Branch Pier Village

Pier Village, a mixed-use complex on the New Jersey oceanfront, is adding what it describes as an upscale entertainment lounge with bowling, virtual-reality sports simulators, table games and a full bar to its roster.

Pier Pins, which will be occupying 8,000 square feet at 20 Melrose Place in Long Branch, is slated to hold its grand opening Sept. 7, according to Pier Village's owner, New York-based Kushner Cos.

The new lounge will feature four full-sized bowling lanes, as well as an array of virtual-reality sporting experiences ranging from golf to lacrosse to soccer via three sports-simulator bays. The venue's other gaming options include air hockey, ping pong and billiards.

Pier Pins also offers guests a full-service bar, surrounded by high-tops and lounge seating, that will be serving handcrafted cocktails and a range of beers and wines. The site will also offer a "menu of bar bites," fare overseen by the team behind Pier Village’s award-winning Salt Steakhouse.

Kushner acquired Pier Village in 2014. The property includes more than 140,000 square feet of retail, food and beverage, and fitness operators. There are also 493 luxury apartments, 243 condominium units and 91 hotel rooms at Pier Village, which attracts over 2.3 million annual visitors, according to Kushner.

“We knew that a high-end entertainment concept would be the ideal complement to the diverse slate of food and beverage and shopping experiences available to visitors at Pier Village,” Nicole Kushner Meyer, Kushner's president, said in a statement.

Kushner has tapped operations veteran Ernie Blundell to manage Pier Pins. Blundell has over 30 years of management experience at such other attractions as the Empire State Building, the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum, the Seattle Space Needle and Six Flags Great Adventure prior to his role at Pier Pins.