A Letter from Conor Kendrick - A Proposal for Sim's Bowl?

I received this note from Conor Kendrick, a fan of Revitalize Des Plaines! He has some great ideas - see what he has to say!

Hi, my name is Conor Kendrick, I have been a lifelong resident of Des Plaines, Illinois and I am about to graduate college with a degree in Parks and Recreation with a minor in Environmental Science. In returning to Des Plaines, I have an idea of what can help revitalize the downtown.

Let me start off by saying isn’t this “Revitalize Des Plaines” group great!? I like all the old pictures that have been posted, of places I remember, and place’s I had no clue even existed until now. I had no idea that this many people cared about the city.

Second, as I've stated on multiple posts in this forum about Sim's Bowl, I am looking to buy it and operate it. I worked there for 7 years (throughout high school then when I was in on breaks from college), and did everything except bartend and cook. I was successful in attracting new leagues and parties to Sims, and I even ran my own league that took up most of the 16 lanes. I was also instrumental in getting the bowling alley at Palwaukee Airport operational once again, and now it looks like they are going to have two night leagues there. Given my previous experience I know how to operate a bowling alley successfully in today’s market. The problem with the previous operation was that they still thought it was 1959 and not 2009 when it came to marketing and upkeep. 

However, it is estimated that it would take about $1,300,000 to acquire the real estate, refurbish the equipment, remodel the kitchen and bathrooms etc. The initial plans are to get a loan for $1 million so we need to raise $300,000 in capital. The purpose of this letter is to see if anyone was interested in investing with me in this enterprise. I am not asking for money right now, just what you are willing to invest. I am in the process of setting up a new company to own and operate the bowling alley.

I strongly believe that Sim’s can be a successful enterprise; it just needs the right owners with the right plans. I have plans for the bowling alley and the storefront and apartments next door which include:

• Bringing the building up to code
• Refurbishing the Retro charm and equipment
• Developing the cleaners building next door (which comes with the purchase) into a storefront and a microbrewery
• Attracting bowling leagues
• Making it a clean family friendly place for parties and open bowling

I appreciate your time in reading this, and if you have any questions or are interested in investing you can contact me through my email or my cell phone, both are provided below.

Sincerely,
Conor Kendrick
Kendrick.conor@gmail.com
(847) 373-7500