When Moe Farhat secured the former Gold’s Gym spot on the lower floor of a downtown apartment building, rumours immediately started to fly. Moe tried to keep it a secret as long as he could, but it soon proved fruitless – everyone and their cat knew Fort McMurray was getting it’s first bowling alley since the aging McMurray Bowl closed its doors in Gregoire more than a decade prior.

This wouldn’t be your run-of-the-mill bowling alley though. The Alley uses some of the most cutting-edge technology in the game today. Add in the ever-popular arcade, and the recently opened Laser Tag next door and it’s no wonder residents have flocked to The Alley in droves.

This year, Fort McMurray voted The Alley as Best Entertainment Centre for the second straight year. It also picked up a brand-new category, Best Date Night, by edging out local restaurants The Keg and Surekha’s On the Snye. Local realtor Paige Cyr from loves hitting the arcade on date night with her husband Corey, especially to challenge him to their favourite game Mario Kart. Local musician Kevin White agrees, but Arts Council Wood Buffalo’s Akshaya Lakshmi prefers a more physical challenge on date night with the basketball hoops! Perhaps even more impressive for only being two years into the game, The Alley was voted Best Pizza narrowly preventing long time community staple Hu’s Pizza from getting back-to-back wins (although Hu is looking to fight harder next year).