Peabody Lanes sold to Wichita couple
Curtis and Christie McBride of Wichita signed on the dotted line Thursday evening in an agreement with Mike and Cheryl Berger, owners of Peabody Lanes, and Peabody Sunflower Corporation, owner of the former theater building which houses the bowling alley.
They will open the bowling alley before the end of September.
The McBrides are bowling enthusiasts and hope to re-invigorate the bowling climate in Peabody.
"We want to bring something back to Peabody that everyone of all ages can enjoy," said Curtis McBride.
Curtis and Christie say they are not great bowlers, but they love the sport.
Their children, on the other hand, began bowling early and stayed with it through high school. Son Josh will be trying out for the nationally recognized Wichita State University bowling team this week.
McBride said his son and daughter remember bowing at Peabody Lanes when they were eight and 10 years old, respectively.
Gabriell graduated from Wichita Northwest High School in 2006. She was on the bowling team there for four years and lettered two years. She is now married to Erik Kuhlman and the couple is expecting a child. Erik will be leaving for Iraq at the end of the month.
Josh graduated in 2007, also from Wichita Northwest High, and has a string of titles from his years as a bowler.
In 2005 he was a member of the champion Kansas state high school bowling team, as well as state youth Pepsi champion, USBC youth all-events champion, and USBC youth doubles champion.
In 2006 he was named Kansas state high school individual champion. He has bowled eight 300 games, two of which were back-to-back.
"Obviously, we take bowling pretty seriously in our family," said Curtis.
The McBrides will host an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 30, and hope to meet as many local folks as possible.
"We will have free hot dogs, drinks, and a free game of bowling for everyone who attends," he said.
Curtis is a residential home loan officer and Christie is an accountant at Cessna. For the time being they will continue to work in Wichita and will commute to Peabody to operate the bowling alley.
"We are excited about this step in our lives and look forward to getting to know the community," said McBride.
Watch for additional information as it becomes available.
