A decade ago, Michael Siniscalchi’s life looked a lot different than it does today.
Back then, he’d been in finance for about 10 years — first in Chicago as a trader on the Chicago Board of Trade, and later in New York on the New York Stock Exchange. Days were spent enmeshed in numbers, endless streams of financial data, but nights were when Siniscalchi went out to clear his head.
“We would go out after the trading day and often had a great time at these full-service entertainment-based bowling concepts,” Siniscalchi said.
The places catered to families and kids during the day, adults at night, and although they called to mind the classic bowling alleys and arcades of yore, there was a modern aspect that felt right at home in the New York and Chicago nightlife scenes.
Siniscalchi never intended to create a concept like that, himself. But, he did.
While on vacation with his wife to visit his parents in Myrtle Beach in 2014, he came across something that would change his life: a dilapidated bowling alley.
“I thought, ‘Why can’t we do something like those big city full-service entertainment bowling concepts and bring them here?’” he said. “Those concepts really only existed in places like New York or Chicago, but we thought it would work. So we started from scratch with no experience in the business at all.”
They gutted the building, transforming it into the first 810 Billiards & Bowling location, an expansive “eater-tainment” venue catering to families and the late-night crowd.
With bowling, billiards, a full-service bar, restaurant, table tennis, arcade games, air hockey and more, 810 Billiards & Bowling now has six locations across South Carolina and Arizona, with another three locations planned.
The main goal of the concept from the start, Siniscalchi said, has been to find that sweet spot between a family-friendly vibe and that of a late-night crowd.
“We’re more of a sports bar spin on the concept,” Siniscalchi said. “Some of our older competition tends to be very night-club oriented. We’ll do kids and families during the day and as we slide into evening, it’s more of a young-adult bar group. Think upscale American bar food rather than a night-club type of environment.”
Now, they’re bringing it to Greenville, with plans to open a franchise in spring 2022 at 842 Woods Crossing, close to Haywood Mall.
South Carolina Navy veteran and entrepreneur Rylan Miller will be opening the franchise location, having discovered the first 810 Billiards & Bowling location in Myrtle Beach while he was out with friends in 2015.
“He really understands how to build a franchise organization and that kind of experience is invaluable to us,” Siniscalchi said.
The pandemic threw a wrench into plans to open earlier, he said, as indoor entertainment venues faced the full headwind of public health concerns, but Siniscalchi is confident Greenville will be a prime location for opening in the new year.
“We think it’s an incredible market, quite frankly,” he said. “A lot of young families are in need of quality entertainment and from early spring onward, we should be ready to go — booking events, birthday parties, cooperate outings, you name it. We’re excited to show Greenville what we have to offer.”
