FAIRMONT — Valley Worlds of Fun will close its doors on July 29, after a 46-year run.
Bruce Martin, son of founder Bob Martin, announced the closure Monday on the entertainment center’s Facebook page.
“It’s been coming for awhile, certainly,” Bruce told The Dominion Post.
The business opened in 1972 as Valley Lanes, a bowling alley. Through the years, Bob’s focus shifted to community youth, and Valley Worlds of Fun was born, according to the Facebook post.
Bruce called the business a “labor of love” for the family and recalled that his first job involved working as a pin chaser at Valley Lanes the year it opened.
Bruce credited his father with providing kids with a safe, alcohol-free place to play. The decision to close was tough, but it’s the economic reality.
Bruce said his dad operated the place on a string, keeping prices and expenses as low as possible while investing back into the business. Health issues in recent years forced his father to step away from the day-to-day operations.
Bruce said his wife and daughter pitched in to keep the business going, but revenue fell two-thirds from five years ago.
“My father intended it to be a place people wanted to go and to provide the best entertainment,” he said. “We’ve reached a point where we can’t provide that level of service anymore.”
The Facebook announcement thanked employees and customers.
“This really breaks my heart,” Erik Stevens posted on Facebook. “Valley Worlds of Fun was my first job as a young adult.”
Stevens said he met some of his “closest and dearest” friends while working there for seven years and, despite his sadness at the closure, he is thankful for the memories.
“Very sad to read this,” Chelsea Myers commented. “I attended many field trips here as a kid. It’s a shame.”
The Valley Worlds property is listed by Black Diamond Realty at $1.7 million with 59,360 square feet of industrial space and a separate 3,419-square-foot office/conference center on a total of 6.7 acres.
Bruce said an online auction will be held, probably in August, to sell the business’ assets. The details will be announced on Facebook, he said.
Until July 29, all fun passes are $10. Valley Worlds of Fun will be open noon-10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starting July 2.
“I really would have liked to have continued my father’s vision of having a nice place for kids in the neighborhood to go,” Bruce said. “To a certain extent I feel like I’ve failed in that.”
