TPB Contractors of Monroe began tearing down the old Valley Bowl on Pershing Drive in Derby Monday.
So many people were stopping by to have a last look at the local landmark, TPB owner Tommy Beard had to lay utility poles across the work area to keep people at a safe distance.
“People definitely loved the place, but we want to keep people safe,” Beard said during a brief work break Tuesday afternoon.
Valley Bowl closed its doors for good two years ago, a victim of the recession and changing times.
The property is owned by Pershing Partners, LLC. State records show the principal in that company is Jerry Nocerino, of Nocerino Construction in New Haven.
The plan is to demolish the 33,0000 square-foot Valley Bowl building, clean it up and redevelop the site. Which business will eventually move in there hasn’t been revealed.
“The last time I spoke with the owners, they said they were working with tenants, but I don’t who or what is on their way in there,” Sheila O’Malley, Derby’s director of economic development, said.
Red Raider Plaza, just next door on Pershing Drive, is being redeveloped to feature a Walgreens pharmacy. The strong rumor in Derby is that Aldi’s supermarket is moving in — although Aldi corporate spokespeople keep denying it.
While the future of the Valley Bowl property remains unclear, it didn’t really matter this week.
Monday and Tuesday were days to remember the place in its glory days of decades past.
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John Carrubba swung by the Valley Bowl parking lot Tuesday in his pick up truck to have a look at the old building.
“I used to play baseball over there all the time,” he said, pointing to a wall that was now construction debris.
Stacy Richardson, 54, grew up in Ansonia but now lives in Newtown. He was at Valley Bowl Tuesday to repair some of Beard’s equipment.
He snagged an undated aerial photo of Valley Bowl and the surrounding area.
“The Valley once had so much industry,” Richardson said, holding the large photo. “It was something.”
Richardson, like countless others, bowled there all the time. He remembered the drinking age was 18 in those days, but didn’t have memories of downing beers with friends.
“I think their beer license must have come later,” he said. “It was a busy place from the 60s, through the 70s, right up until the 80s.”
TPB Contractors has been at Valley Bowl for more than a month, clearing the interior and prepping the building for demolition.
Owners of other bowling alleys in the state took the leftover bowling balls and lockers.
Beard said a teacher from Emmett O’Brien in Ansonia asked for some of the lanes to be saved for the students, who will turn them into benches.
“Valley Bowl will live on,” Beard said, before getting back to work.
The demolition work will take a few weeks.
