When Matt Davis and his brothers, Jim and Joe, were considering purchasing the old Sunshine Lanes in Manahawkin’s downtown business district in 1995, they almost walked away.

“There was no automatic scoring, and the ball returns were awful,” Matt Davis said. “The place was so run down, we almost turned around in the parking lot and left. The alley had no heat or air conditioning. It was a mess. But we walked in here and the place was packed.