On a Friday night at Strykz, Southside feels switched on. The lanes glow, the music carries, kids bounce between the arcade and the lanes, and the bar keeps a game on for the adults who linger after their last frame. It’s lively without feeling frantic—more like the building has slipped back into what it was meant to be.
Philip Bailey still remembers the moment it started. In 2013, living in St. David’s, he rode past the former Southside Bowl and saw it sitting closed. He stopped so suddenly he still laughs about it. “I literally slammed brakes,” he says. The next day he called the Bermuda Land Development Company, learned the building would require a proposal, and went home to write one—bowling at the centre, with enough around it to make people want to stay.
Bailey’s drive to build something came from an early lesson in responsibility. He grew up in a single-family home where money was tight. His mother had to stop working for medical reasons, and as the eldest of three he started earning young—packing bags at Outerbridge’s Grocery (now Somers Grocery). The pay wasn’t much, but it went toward groceries and savings. By 14, he was working at Robinson’s Drug Store, reading Black Enterprise and paying attention to people who created opportunities instead of waiting for them.
Back then, he told his mother he’d open “a night club, arcade and deliver pizza.” Years later, when he had a shot at Southside, that line became a plan. His proposal didn’t treat bowling as a one-note attraction. It was bowling, plus a restaurant, plus video games, plus pizza delivery through Sargasso—built to work for families, teens, corporate groups, and serious bowlers without making any one crowd feel like they’re borrowing the space.
Today, Strykz operates as a full entertainment hub: glow lanes, updated scoring software, a sports bar, and a sound system designed for more than background noise. Bailey says the real work is in the details—keeping standards high enough that people don’t just come once.
Ask him what’s been toughest and he doesn’t start with machines or imports. He starts with staffing. In hospitality, he says, attitude is everything: showing up on time, taking pride in the job, understanding that service is the product. A night can be won or lost at the front desk—how the phone is answered, how guests are greeted, how problems are handled when the lanes are full. In a small market, he says, a careless “not my business” mindset doesn’t just cost a sale; it can cost your name.
One milestone he points to is a recent upgrade customers notice immediately: replacing old wood lanes with glow-in-the-dark synthetic lanes and adding new string pinsetters on lanes 9 and 10. Bailey says the payoff has been clear—more foot traffic and smoother nights.
His routine is hands-on. He starts with a short meditation, then gets moving—bike ride, walk/run, sometimes golf if the building is closed. After that it’s supply runs for the restaurant, messages and emails, then a full check of the venue: testing machines, oiling lanes when needed, cleaning key areas, and making sure inventory is ready for the weekend rush.
Strykz also leans into being a community space. Bailey, a former St. George’s football and cricket player, says the business supports St. George’s and St. David’s clubs through donations and has recently sponsored St. George’s Cup Match team. Strykz offers discounts for seniors, summer camps, and schools across the island—part of an effort, he says, to make the venue feel open to everyone, including expats and tourists.
Next up, Bailey wants more nights that feel like events: a stronger bowling/night club vibe, theme parties, partnerships with DJs and promoters, and possibly karaoke on Thursday nights. His approach is straightforward: listen, keep what works, and update what needs updating—without losing the core experience that brought Strykz back to life.
Tel: 441-297-2727| Email: strykzbowl@outlook.com
Instagram: instagram.com/strykzbowlinglounge | Facebook: facebook.com/StrykzBowlingLounge
Address: 27 Southside Road, St. David’s
Services: Bowling for everyone, sports bar, restaurant and catering. Venue and lane rentals available.
