The Bowling Alley
Is the New Afterparty

Cjay Syre, 24, and Sierra Rena, 23, don’t want to brag, but they could beat anyone at two-on-two bowling. “Thousand-dollar game, minimum,” Syre said when we spoke in June. “Put the money up and we’ll bowl.” 

Cyre has been alley-hopping for years, first in the suburbs of St. Louis with his young- er brother “to stay out of trouble,” then in New York,  where he moved after college to pursue a career in fashion. The fledgling designer and stylist had his first “real” date with Rena, also a designer and stylist, at The Gutter on the Lower East Side, which they both called the best spot in the city. She hadn’t bowled much, but she did have a competitive streak that made her instantly want to get good at it. They ordered a round of green tea shots — an alley staple — and let the night unfold.

Not that bowling is just for dates. This past November, Syre and Rena found themselves out at an event with around two dozen of their friends. When it ended, nobody really wanted to go home. “It was like, ‘Let’s go bowling,’” Rena said. “‘It’s so close.’” 

“And open at 4 a.m.,” Syre added.

In the search for a third space — someplace outside of work and home that’s not a bar or a club — the bowling alley checks all the boxes. “It’s just peaceful,” Syre said. “It’s not hot. It’s not so compact. You can just be comfortable. It’s an intimate, fun thing.” Plus, you can order wings.

This past summer, Syre and Rena estimated they hit the lanes about once every two weeks, between travel and work. Sometimes they’d go with their friends, and sometimes with Syre’s younger brother, who owns six of his own bowling balls. “Real champion right there,” Syre said. “He’s probably the only person I know who can beat me.”