Fireside Bowl

I love to bowl and bought the groupon, not even the best deal but hey, it’d save a few bucks. Tried calling 3 times on a Monday because I’m aware weekdays possibly mean league play (no one ever answered). We decided to try it out, finding on other internet spots it was open Monday. We walked in and the atmosphere seemed OK, I liked the dive feel. Stood at the front desk to speak to someone about bowling for over 5 minutes and we weren’t even acknowledged. Bartender through the corridor serving drinks could clearly see us and after talking to the locals for a bit he just turned around and said «open bowling doesn’t start till 1030.» He turned right back around so we just walked out. Great service, good atmosphere and I can’t wait to try to bowl again! Most reviews with low stars are pretty spot on. Go to Atlas/​Seven Ten Lounge instead and thank me later.

Turkey is a bowling term for when you get 3 strikes in a row andddd I apply it to throat ripping.
Did you hear that? Good.

I was looking for somthing fun and inexpensive to do for my birthday I found this bowling alley on Groupon. My party was a party at 10 so I had brought two. I had called the bowling alley to make sure that I could use both of the Groupons, and of course on arrival the man behind the desk gave me a hard time about it but the owner said that it would be fine… the bowling alley closes closes at midnight around 8 o’clock we’re just getting on the phone to order pizza and employee walked over and asked if we can hurry it up because if business stays slow that plans to close early. he was extremely rude and the whole situation was awkward. he also rudely informed me that my children would have to play in their socks because they don’t provide any child size shoes… The worker clearly seamed annoyed and couldn’t be any more rude… I talked to what I think is the owner and I got a very unsincere apology. over all I will NEVER go back here!!!

I will never go to Fireside again, unfortunately. We did 3 birthday parties for me there and they were all awesome. Staff could not have been friendlier or more accommodating. However we did my 4^th there last night and it was horrible. Due to schedule changes, we moved it from last Friday to last night. Then we were 10 minutes late. Guy in charge (short guy with huge glasses) complained about us moving it and being 10 minutes late. Not just to us, but to our guests, which was embarrassing. Note there was no one in the joint other than us. Then twice he cut off the monitors late in our games as opposed to simply asking us if we would like to extend. I could not leave quickly enough but as I did, I told him we would never return. He seemed to not care at all. Very disappointing as it is a great, old school establishment.

After the experience with the person working yesterday, my opinion of this place has seriously changed. The bartender was nice but the guy working the lanes and customer service couldn’t have been more rude or dismissive. He either is begging to lose his business or needs to retire. There is nothing hospitable about this place anymore.

Cool place. Not like your suburb bowling. City bowling. Good crowd. Friendly owner

Great staff, fun atmosphere, but the owner is a complete nightmare. Don’t try to use a groupon, he will give you a million reasons why you can’t use it, then tell you if you have a problem with it leave. Even after spending around 150 dollars with a party of 12. He is a bully, and I don’t see myself going back.

I walk in, and a guy at the front desk says loudly, «Hey! What’s the white girl doing here?» This was not my choice to come to this place, but My cousin wanted to go bowling for her birthday.
The first half of our bowling session I felt really out of place and like I was in a Mexican club of some sort. There were girls fighting each other in Spanish, and techno-​Latin music playing loudly over the speakers.
Later in the evening, the crown started to change from Mexican to hipster. The guys with the thick black rimmed glasses and skinny jeans… Typical parties for Logan Square.
The bowling alley itself is smaller and seems like it was a family-​friendly place at one point. Ball selection is okay– a lot are unmarked and most of the balls are really beat up. Oh well.
Prices are reasonable. It was $ 16 per person for our group to bowl for two ours with shoe rental.
Two stars though– I would not return.

I called Fireside Bowl before purchasing the Groupon to make sure I could use it on a Saturday night. The guy on the phone said he would double check, and then came back to say yes it was fine, but it is first come first served starting at 9PM so to come then. So I agreed. When I came in, the owner yelled at me that they do not accept Groupons on Fridays or Saturdays. When I said I had called earlier and an employee told me I could use it, he told me that some of his employees are «f-​ing idiots.» When I seemed shocked and tried to show him the Groupon, he refused to look at it and said he made the rules. Finally the bartender came out, and on the sly redeemed my Groupon and finally let my group bowl, but we were only given 45 minutes instead of a full hour. It was an absolutely terrible experience and I was very upset with this groupon and the treatment of guests there.

Retro bowling alley. Definitely a place not to miss! A hidden gem in the city away from the more touristy locations like lucky strike and diverse bowl.

I tried making a reservation to bowl with friends, and purchased a groupon to do it and intended to make a fun night out of it. However, I found out that Fireside would not accommodate a party of my size, nor would they give me a reservation. I was part of a church group that organized to go bowling on a specific day, but we had to cancel our plans because of this. Not to mention, whoever I spoke to on the phone was very rude to me and left me with a bad impression. I definitely will not be going here any time soon.

So the alley still has the hint of smoke from days of bowling long gone, our lane broke a few times but my goodness is this place fun. This is not a tricked out, bells and whistles kind of place but it’s got it’s own ambiance that’s worth enjoying. Get there early and get your jukebox requests in fast otherwise you’ll be at the mercy of others musical tastes. The staff is helpful and sweet. We bought the bartender an adult beverage and he was genuinely happy to join us. This was a fantastic and fun way to spend a snowy Sunday afternoon.

Love this place! We come here pretty much every Friday when it opens at 6 to do a quick hour of bowling (great with the groupon)! Don’t worry about Hammer the manager! He might at first seem like he wants to throw customer service out the window but he actually is really funny. Just make sure you do protocol like you would any way. I see people leave their balls at the lane — You are supposed to put them back. Similar to throwing away your trash at a movie theater!
Bowling balls are a little dinged up but hey it’s an older bowling alley and when we go early and there aren’t many people we play music on our phones. Drink some beer, play some music, and bowl!

Careful when making your plans. We had shown up towards the expiration date of our Groupon only to find that the doors were locked. We stood outside as others arrived and waiting alongside us. No one answered our calls when we attempted to phone them.
I had been there in the past and recall needed the assistance of an attendant a few times when the machinery got stuck, etc.
I’m giving it an extra star (3 instead of 2) for the cozy factor and the fact that every local band in the city seemed to have played here when I was growing up. Not sure if anyone plays there anymore.

I just about shit my pants when I was watching «The Break-​Up» (You probably just shat your pants because I just said I watched «The Break-​Up») and it showed Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn bowling here. I had heard they cleaned up the place, but I never thought it’d show up in some Hollywood blockbuster.
I know this place as the place to see punk rock shows, not bowl.
It was a very run down bowling alley. When you walked in, it was pretty much the middle of the building; the dusty vintage lanes spread in front of you. A stage all the way in the left corner, and to the right, the entrance to the bar. They did have house sound and a sound guy. For some reason I remember the ceiling tiles here distinctly. I think it’s because the drummers used to fling their sticks up and they would just jab themselves into the ceiling.
They used to have shows every night of the week. Often, they would have matinée’s at 4pm where a handful of bands would play for a few hours and then another handful would start playing around 8pm. All for about $ 5 if you walked in at the right time. All ages, except the bar part.
All of the shows that I’ve seen here have been memorable…
QandNotU played here… Bluetip. Buck65 played here. Rollo Tomasi, Eastern Youth and Number Girl from Japan played here… C Average… Braid. Promise Ring…

Fwantz-​y? Neg.
Nostalgic Charm? Yep.
So I guess it depends on what you hope to gain from your bowling experience. Do you want flashy lights, techno music, martinis, a cool scene and bowling shoes manufactured sometime this century? Then you’re probably better off at Lucky Strike. If you want a total throwback experience complete with pitchers of Bud Light, Zeppelin on the juke box and grungy lanes, Fireside Bowl might be your jam.
When I walked in to Fireside Bowl, I was immediately transported to the bowling alleys of my youth in the late 80s. Honest to God, when I sat down at the score keeping mechanism, I quickly realized it was the exact same one from my childhood bowling alley. Forget those fancy screens above the lanes that broadcast your score… these are one step up from manual scoring and more on par with a Tandy III. No joke. And I totally remembered how to use them. Must be all that muscle memory coming back…
There really is only one attendant and he’s kind of a dick. Maybe he’s just colorful? I don’t know. He’s definitely part of the experience.
Also important to note: The balls and pins are jacked up. They’re chipped and dented and weird. So if you’re a super competitive bowler, you will be let down. But for real: Who’s THAT competitive?
I can’t really grant more than three stars because while I appreciated the 80s vibe, it’s pretty run down, the shoes are smelly, the equipment is subpar and all of that. But where you gain stars is the laid back atmosphere where you can kick back, drink a few pitchers with your friends and throw around big balls.
Do it.

In terms of bowling alleys, this has to be one of the worst that I’ve experienced to date. I know that bowling alleys range from dives (like this one) to modern (ie cosmic bowling) to pretentious (Lucky Strike Lanes). My friends and I were looking for something cheap and fun to do, so we bought the Groupon that Fireside Bowl was offering which was $ 15 for an hour of bowling for up to six people that included a shoe rental. This was a great deal, so we were happy to fork over the $ 3 apiece for an hour of bowling.
Upon arriving at 8pm on a Saturday, the place was packed, and I’m assuming a league had just finished. It was incredibly disorganized, so we just stood off to the side waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. At one point the host/​manager came over to us with a list in hand and asked us what our name was. Apparently we were supposed to check in upon arrival (even though about half of the lanes were free). Luckily he had noticed us when we walked in, so he bumped us up on the list and we were able to get a lane after about 10 more minutes of waiting.
We showed our Groupon and we each had to offer up one of our shoes as collateral for our pair of bowling shoes, which seemed a bit odd. We were put on lane #13 and quickly got to bowling so the six of us could finish out one whole game. As we were bowling, we realized that the scoring was off… like terribly off. For instance, a gutter ball would sometimes register as a strike, but normally only for player #1. The back right corner of the pins would sporadically work. We all quickly came to the conclusion that Groupon users were put on these «broken» lanes as the same problems were plaguing the family of five next to us. Luckily, we embraced this «nuance» and decided that it would be a surprise on who won ultimately at the end as we were just there for a good time.
Not a terrible place, just not my scene, especially when we were put on the broken lane with no explanation. I’d much rather go to Waveland Bowl or Southport Lanes in the future, but I can definitely say that you’ll have an experience at Fireside Bowl if you so desire…

If you’re looking for a luxury bowling experience with modern fixtures and equipment and a bartender that speaks the English language, then for God’s sake don’t go here. Come to this alley to party.
Lane fees are billed by the hour, which is a little bit strange, but it worked out to be about the same cost as I’m used to paying. Plus, when paying by-​the-​hour it gives you an incentive to bowl as much as you possibly can during that hour, which keeps the game moving nicely.
Drink prices are alright. Thirteen bucks for a pitcher of PBR or Old Style or some other foul-​tasting domestic. Honker’s ale was only three bucks more, money well invested. As mentioned earlier, the bartender didn’t speak much English but he was super-​nice. Definitely better than a jerk that’s fluent.
MY ONE COMPLAINT: This place is a dive, okay? It’s not for everybody, but it certainly suits my aesthetic. The one place where Fireside crossed the line was the mens’ lavatory. There were a lot of fruit flies in there, and I suspect that they were not sustaining themselves with fruit. It’s cool if you need to tinkle, but #2 is a definite no-​go. They should really clean the bathrooms a bit better, but I certainly hope that they leave everything else with a healthy coat of grime.

I recently bowled one of my worst games in living memory here – but I won’t hold that against them.
This is a great, basic bowling alley. The guy who was working was friendly and helpful. My soda was cheap. I like that they charge by the hour by the lane versus per game. Seems to make more sense somehow.
My only complaint is after I was done bowling my bowling fingers were blackened from the balls. Be sure to wash your hands afterwards.

There comes a time in every person’s life when it’s time to admit they are no longer what they once were. That time for me is now. I no longer have a punk rock spirit living within me. The anarchic blood no longer flows through my veins. And, therefore, the Fireside Bowl no longer excites me. It now annoys me a bit.
Despite no longer regularly hosting punk shows, the Fireside still has some of that spirit. Its bowling balls, for example, are a mish mash much like the clashing nature of a punk rocker’s outfit. To try to find any organization by weight on what used to be the stage would prove beyond frustrating to a systematic human being. And the balls have seen better days. To say they could use some safety pins to hold them together might be hyperbole, but they are kind of gross to the touch.
The lanes themselves are an oily mess. Punkabilly lovers might be able to use them to tame their pompadours. Bowlers, not so much. I pretty much threw my guessed weight ball and closed my eyes hoping I could catch a random pattern. And in the end the pin action was so stubbornly minimal, that I expected some angry agitpunk graphic to pop up on the scoring screen flashing middle fingers.
Still, despite being a mediocre experience as far as actual bowling goes, I can’t hate on the Fireside. It’s historic both as a bowling alley (it’s one of Chicago’s oldest operating alleys) and a rock venue. It’s legendary on the realm of Emo’s in Austin or CBGBs (RIP) in New York City. To bowl there is to have participated in the realm of punk history. Plus the beer prices aren’t bad and the jukebox is huge — though it would be better if it contained the amazing bands that had played there through the years.
The only real knocks I have on the place is that it needs to be open during the day (punks do not only come out at night) and that they need to post their league schedules somewhere. Showing up during their limited hours and being turned away because no lanes are open is kind of annoying. Sure I could call ahead, but that’s not very free spirited.
Okay, I guess I still have a little of the attitude left in me.

This place is a time machine back to the 80s. Doubtful there’ve been any changes to anything in here for 25yrs. Even have an original donkey kong jr game.
I heard the owner is old and his kid runs it and mostly doesn’t care. No idea if that’s true but it looks like it.
The good news is that the scoring machine gave me a few pins for the effort every time. even on gutter balls. High roll was 7 pins on a gutter.
Service at the bar is fast. That’s good. Beer makes bowling way funner. Still not that fun but funner. Was sort of dark in the bar, but thought I saw a guy who looked like ladka gravas. Not sure. Lenny and squiggy maybe regulars too
Was at fireside for about an hour and half. For me, overall not a bad excursion. The main plus is that it’s sort of close to some other logan sq stuff. Other bars and such.
If the kid is looking to upgrade, a galaga machine or maybe some earth wind and fire tapes for sale would be a great addition.