Northwest Side Staple, Mont Clare Lanes Is Closing After 56 Years

(Source) Soon the crashing of bowling balls against pins, the high-fives and the laughs will be silenced at a longtime Mont Clare establishment. On April 4, Mont Clare Lanes and Banquets, 2957 N. Harlem Ave., will be closing its doors for good after 56 years in business. The family-run business, which has 32 lanes for bowling, a bar and two banquet rooms, at one time was a popular spot for recreation and parties, but over time things have changed. Mark Ranallo, 53, one of Mont Clare Lanes’ three owners, took over when his father, Louis, died in 2009. It’s become clear lately that there wasn’t enough business coming in to keep the bowling alley running. The middle class was their key demographic, but when times got hard economically, their business felt the pinch. “This place is where they used their discretionary income, and that’s the first to go,” he said.

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Whether it be the Hilltop Steakhouse, Mirage Diner, or Hot Dougs, I’ve always appreciated the homages all the Barstool cities paid to certain neighborhood places. So I wanted to take some time out to close the curtain on a place that you definitely had some memories in as a kid if you grew up on the northwest side of Chicago.

Like all tributes, let’s cue the music:

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Mont Clare,

Whether it be for a birthday party, a Chicago Park District day camp field trip, or a Hiawatha Park Baseball Banquet you were always a place for us to wreak havoc as kids. From running into the back rooms so we could knock over a bunch of tables and chairs, to sneaking into the kitchen area to snake a few extra rolls you always put up with our bullshit.

We’ll never forget the time when Jon Lieber showed up to the HP baseball banquet (I’m talking 20 game win, big dick Jon Lieber by the way) to sign a few autographs, or the times we would fire 8 balls down the lane only to have a pissed off worker come reset the pins every 5 minutes. You played a large part into getting all of us our first hand jobs by pulling the old “slipping on the grease trick” so we could make a few 7th grade girls laugh and quite frankly I don’t think we can ever re-pay you for that one.

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You may have attracted a different kind of crowd in the later years and your parking lot is without a doubt top 4 worst in the game, but you’ll always hold a special place in our hearts.

Thanks for the memories,

Your boy, Eddie

Hiawatha Park Blue backup 2nd Baseman/Bench Comradery Guy