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MON, OCT 26, 2026 BELLWETHER, MI

BUSINESS

Bell Lanes sold to developer

The 16-lane alley on Route 9 will close in April after the league season.The buyer shares an address with the township's soil remediation account.

BY PAT MOREAUBY R. CALLOWAY BUSINESSUNEDITED MONDAY, OCT 26, 2026

Bell Lanes, the 16-lane bowling alley on Route 9 since 1962, has been sold to a developer. The Tuesday and Thursday leagues will finish their season before the lanes close in April.

The buyer, Hollow Creek Partners, has not said what it plans to build. Owner Frank Bell, 78, said it was time. “My knees retired before I did,” he said.The buyer, Hollow Creek Partners, has not said what it plans to build. Its address is the same as the account that received the township's $41,000 for “Soil Remediation, Hollow Creek.”

League bowlers are invited to a farewell tournament in March. The pins will be sold off one by one, signed.

Three road workers, one in an orange safety vest, stand behind a striped road-closed barricade on a rural road at dusk. Three road workers, one in an orange safety vest, stand behind a striped road-closed barricade on a rural road at dusk.
From left: Ray Dunleavy, Gus Pell, Marv Toivonen and Ted Lusk, Baraga Dr., Tuesday.From left: Ray Dunleavy, Gus Pell, Marv Toivonen. Ted Lusk is standing on the right. Look again.
An abandoned wooden sawmill with a sagging roof on a misty riverbank surrounded by autumn trees. An abandoned wooden sawmill with a sagging roof on a misty riverbank surrounded by autumn trees.
The old Pell Sawmill, Hollow Creek.The old Pell Sawmill. Do not walk here after dark.
A wooden telephone pole on a quiet residential corner covered in layers of stapled lost-pet flyers. A wooden telephone pole on a quiet residential corner covered in layers of stapled lost-pet flyers.
Flyers on the corner of Elm and Third.Flyers on Elm and Third. Every one is the same dog.

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