The Valley Bowl, owned by the Santangelo-Scott family for decades, has gone out of business, an owner confirmed Thursday.
Hit by the recession, rising costs and changes in the habits of bowlers, the Valley institution shut its doors less than a month ago.
“It was a huge rise in operating costs and a biting recession that affected discretionary spending — because what is bowling, if not a discretionary activity?” said John Scott, the long-time general manager.
Scott said the decline of bowling leagues also contributed to Valley Bowl’s decline.
Valley Bowl tried to adapt to the changes in the industry, offering bowling specials such as “All You Can Bowl” nights to attract more bowlers.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough.
The Valley Indy received the following statement from Valley Bowl Thursday. Article continues after the document.
Background
The bowling alley was built by Scott’s grandfather, John Santangelo, an Italian immigrant who came to America in the 1930s.
Santangelo was a local businessman who owned property on both sides of Pershing Drive.
Among his ventures, Santangelo was the co-founder of Charlton Publishing, which later included Charlton Comics.
At first Santangelo constructed the building and leased it to a bowling tenant. However, that tenant went out of business.
The Santangelo-Scott family eventually took over operations, and has been running it since the 1960s.
Scott said he has been the general manager since the late 1980s.
What’s Next For The Property?
City officials said Wednesday the building has been purchased and the new owner is negotiating to rent it out to a “mid-sized” retail tenant.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri and Derby’s Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley wouldn’t say much about the apparent change in ownership, except to say a new, unidentified owner was “in negotiations” with a new tenant for the building.
“With negotiations, they could fall through and get ruined,” Staffieri said.
However, Scott declined to comment on whether the property — which includes adjacent Italian Pavilion and other stores in the lot — had been sold.
There is no public record of a property transfer to a new owner.
City records indicate that the property is in foreclosure.
Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan holds the $800,000 mortgage on the property. The bank filed foreclosure paperwork in February 2010. A bank official did not return a phone call placed Wednesday.
Mario Perone, the owner of Italian Pavilion, said he thinks a buyer has an option to purchase the building if a new tenant is found.
“I have a long-term lease,” Perone said. “It’s 10 more years. So we’re not going anywhere.”
