Northwest-based sports bar/entertainment center Big Al’s has opened its fourth location in Ontario, Calif., and though it’s smaller than its predecessors (occupying 45,000 sq. ft. compared to the other centers’ 67,000-70,000 sq. ft.), it has kept the amenities, look and feel of its larger counterparts.
The company says the scaling down of the newest store was very intentional. “Our vision of growth can be more readily realized with a smaller model,” said Daniel Kirkwood, president and CEO of Kirkwood & Kirkwood, the family-owned real estate property company that owns and operates Big Al’s. “More important to developers and landlords, we took a plain, vanilla, former Best Buy box and turned it into something spectacular.”
Kirkwood credits Scott/Edwards Architecture with the transformation, suggesting that the designers of the Beaverton, Ore., and Meridian, Idaho, projects did a “phenomenal job” of maintaining the Big Al’s look and feel, while also “re-engineering the brand and its amenities” into a more scalable model.
Of the new spot, Howard Samuels, president of Samuels & Co., said, “The facility looks spectacular (inside and out) and would seem to be an ideal anchor to any landlord/developer that is redeveloping.”
“The consumer experience Big Al’s has created at its existing locations is impressive,” said Matthew G. Traino, VP of IDS Real Estate Group. “We are pleased to be a part of bringing such a high-quality entertainment option to the community.”
An easy stroll from Citizen’s Business Bank Arena on the edge of the Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga communities, Big Al’s Ontario boasts a contemporary Sports Bar & Grill with a 55′ HD laser Projection Screen, 20 full-service, state of-the-art bowling lanes (including The Ocho, an ultra-bowling lounge), a massive Center Bar with a custom, one-ton beer chase serving 36 beers on draught, a 225-player video and redemption game arcade, and the exclusively 21+ BoardRoom featuring billiards, ping pong, table and floor shuffleboards, classic darts and arcade games. For more, click here.
