CyBowl & Billiards introduced an Underground Cafe and Wii console to its services over the summer.

CyBowl also received $30,000 in July 2022 to renovate its space with new lighting, wall decor and kitchen appliances. A project timeline is not currently available.

Nichole Woods, entertainment operations specialist at the Memorial Union, joined CyBowl’s management in the spring of 2022. She sparked a series of updates and ideas, starting with an expanded food menu.

The process began as an experiment with an appliance air fryer, some chicken tenders, a few mozzarella sticks and a handful of mini pizzas in May 2022.

“It kind of just took off,” said Josie Hall, a junior studying animal science and CyBowl’s assistant marketing and media manager. “It had really good, positive reviews, so we thought why not expand it.”

The Underground Cafe officially opened over the summer as CyBowl hosted a wedding reservation party. CyBowl sold the wedding guests an estimated 28 orders of mozzarella sticks, 10 orders of chicken tenders and all of their fries and mini pizzas.

During the AfterDark campus event Aug. 26, CyBowl sold more than $50 from their Underground Cafe menu, not including previously sold items such as soda and candy.

“I remember a group of three girls who came up at AfterDark,” Hall said. “All three of them came up and raved about the food. They were all super, super excited.”

Additional Underground Cafe items include franks in a blanket and taquitos.

CyBowl also added a Wii console with five remotes to their activities roster this summer. Staff discovered the console in the back of a storage closet and did not include it in the official renovation project.

Students can enjoy common favorites such as Mario Kart and Wii Sports, along with a handful of retro selections, such as LEGO Star Wars and Legend of Zelda.

In the near future, CyBowl staff plan to purchase a pizza oven and an additional freezer to better support their food service demand.

Other pieces of the renovation project will focus on cosmetic upgrades to tie the space together under a 1920s speakeasy-inspired theme.

“We were asked to find an overlying theme for the space because CyBowl itself is a great location for students to come hang out…but there’s no overall, like, tying theme of ‘this is what CyBowl is,’” Hall said.

New reactive wall wrapping will encompass the bowling lanes, so a larger portion of the space reacts to the blacklights, and new sconce lighting fixtures will line the walls to match the speakeasy theme.

“We’re excited to see students back in the space this year, and we’re looking forward to hearing their thoughts and opinions on our upcoming renovations,” Hall said.

CyBowl is open noon to 10 p.m. during the week and noon to midnight on weekends.

Additional information on pricing and available services can be found on the Student Engagement website.