BUSINESS
Mescalero Apache Tribe revives Alamogordo bowling center
Inn of the Mountain Gods, which will run Rocket City under a management contract, says entertainment is right up its alley
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ALAMOGORDO 鈥� When Gail Notestine was looking for a new place to enjoy retirement with her dogs, she selected Alamogordo for two reasons. One was its smaller size compared to Las Cruces, where she had visited in the past with her late husband. The other was the presence of a bowling center: Notestine was a league bowler back in North Carolina and the decade-old 24-lane bowling center was a strong draw.
The city-built Rocket City Family Fun Center, located next to the Aviator 10 cinema near White Sands Boulevard and the Charlie Lee Memorial Relief Route, reopened last August after struggling in recent years. It closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, reopened and shut down again in November 2023.
Last April, the city signed a management contract with the Mescalero Apache Tribe鈥檚 Inn of the Mountain Gods, reviving the center under new management with the tribe steering a prominent enterprise outside the Mescalero reservation. Tribal President Thora Padilla stated at the time, 鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to lead the relaunch of Rocket City and share our hospitality expertise with Alamogordo,鈥� with the city aiming to reboot the center as a family friendly regional attraction as well as a quality-of-life asset for residents.
It has resumed its place as a fixture in Alamogordo, with a full bar and restaurant led by chef Austin Harless, arcade games and a 2,400-square-foot laser tag course.
It is also providing jobs, with manager Johnny Adams reporting 40 full-time employees and six part-timers staffing the center.
The revamped menu under Harless鈥� tenure includes burgers served on pretzel and brioche buns, frybread tacos, stir-fried chicken with chiles, pork schnitzel, panini and steaks.
The highest demand remains at the bowling lanes, where one might have to wait 30 minutes or over an hour for an opening on a weekend night.
鈥淏owling is the attraction. Bowling is what鈥檚 going to bring everybody in,鈥� Adams said in an interview. 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 have bowling here, that means nobody鈥檚 coming.鈥�
Notestine plays in an unsanctioned senior league, though Rocket City is sanctioned by the U.S. Bowling Congress, the sport鈥檚 national governing body. Notestine鈥檚 daughter, Tracie Martin, also made the move to Alamogordo and rates the bowling center highly, with some caveats.
鈥淓ven compared to some of the ones in bigger cities in North Carolina, this is nice,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clean. The lanes themselves are good. It鈥檚 just the ball-return and the pins that are not so hot.鈥�
It鈥檚 no secret that the mechanics at Rocket City were old and inconsistent. The center鈥檚 lead technician, Ashleigh Miller, said much of the equipment is 40 years old and some older than that, with thousands of parts to maintain and many no longer manufactured, leaving her to look for replacement gearboxes on eBay and other sites.
During January, a major renovation was set to begin. With $650,000 in state Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding, Rocket City鈥檚 lanes will close for a few weeks to install up-to-date pin-setters, monitors, front control systems and other equipment.
Adams said, at the latest, the lanes would reopen by Feb. 13, with the center鈥檚 other attractions in operation while the work proceeds. With all 24 lanes in continuous operation, he looked ahead to programming ideas, making the center a venue for events and musical performances, perhaps even the host of a future state tournament.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to see more people enjoy the southern part of the state or come in from West Texas and El Paso,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淏ringing people down here to let them see another side of this state鈥� Customer service is our specialty. We鈥檙e going to show you a good time.鈥�
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
