First Coast News learned a historic Jacksonville Beach bowling alley has shut down after more than 50 years of operation Saturday.
Beach Bowl, located at 818 Beach Boulevard has closed its doors.
According to Beach Bowl's website "Beach Bowl has been the main attraction center for recreational and competitive bowling in Jacksonville Beach." It featured Cosmic Bowling, a full-service lounge and an arcade game room.
There is an automated message on the main number for Beach Bowl which says the following:
Thank you for calling Beach Bowl, where the good times have stopped rolling. We have closed our doors. Thank you for your years of patronage.
Through the day Saturday, former customers came to take pictures of the business and remember the good times.
"We heard and had a little sadness in the heart," Jacksonville Beach resident Heather Miller said, "so we came to check it out. We're sad to see that it's had its last days."
Beach Bowl, which opened in 1958, closed suddenly, there was no time for a goodbye party. Customers were greeted with locked doors on Saturday.
"It's been the single most stable activity in the beach for the last 50 years," frequent Beach Bowl customer Melissa Forrest said. "It's really more than just a bowling alley. It's our way of life. We bowl four times a week, around the community but mostly at Beach Bowl. This is just heartbreaking for us."
The decision to close its doors stemmed from a three-year battle over the lease, according to Barbara Batt, whose husband owns the Beach Bowl.
"We wanted to exercise our option to continue, and [our landlord] felt like it wasn't valid to continue," Batt told First Coast News. "He didn't want to.. he wanted the property back is the truth. He wanted to do something else with it and he wanted us out."
First Coast News reached out to Ash Properties, the group Batt said owns the property. We are still awaiting a response.
