Vintage arcade part of new club in Troy
New social club features vintage arcade, half-pound hot dogs
TROY, N.Y. » Downtown Troy has a new place to hang out with the opening of Franklin Alley Social Club, a unique amusement hall and bar featuring a vintage arcade, indoor shuffleboard courts and half-pound hot dogs.
Franklin Alley Social Club will open on Friday, offering food, drink and entertainment in a one- of-a kind, below-ground interactive gathering space.
The club, with its entrance in the alleyway at 50 Franklin St. (a back alley just off State Street behind the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall), is located in the basement of 55 Third St., an historic four- story, 17,000 square foot building that served as a Knights of Columbus headquarters from 1924 through the 1990s.
Over the past few years owners Heidi and Frank Sicari have transformed this space into a special event venue called Takk House, with this special project in mind for the former Knights of Columbus basement bowling alley. The old hotspot is scheduled to reopen to the public on Friday as Franklin Alley Social Club. The grand opening party, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., will include shuffleboard and bocce court rentals, vintage arcade games, a Hawaiian Tiki band led by local musician Graham Tichy followed by DJ Trumastr in the later hours, as well as food and drinks available from the club’s bar and kitchen.
After a year of creating Frank- lin Alley Social Club, the Sicaris are excited to see it open.
“We always had big plans for the basement but what it has transformed into is more than we could have ever imagined,” Heidi Sicari said. “It went from a dark and kind of spooky old dilapidated bowling alley to a bright, modern and fun space. I look at the images from a year ago and I amblown away but what this has become. You tend to forget where you started when you spend so much time in it.”
On why they decided to open Franklin Alley Social Club, Heidi Sicari said, “When we purchased 55 Third Stret in 2014 we had plans to open each level of the building over the course of five years. We had two options ... to start with the fourth floor which is where we intend to eventually have a B&B style overnight space for our events or we could start in the basement level where the 1950s Knights of Columbus bowling alley half remained. Which sounds more fun to you?”
At first, they wanted to restore the bowling alley to working order. Although the bowling alley closed in the 1970s, most of the original equipment remained when the couple purchased it. However, they were informed by industry professionals that they would have to cover the original wooden Brunswick Bowling lanes with laminate flooring.
Instead, the owners saved two of the wooden lanes in place and re-purposed them as indoor “deck” or floor shuffleboard courts.
Next, they installed a new bocce ball court in the place of two former lanes. But none of the original bowling lane wood and fixtures have gone away -- all materials have been repurposed to create new tables, booths, and a bar top. Even the old ball returns have been repurposed into railings, while the trophy case is now part of the bar. Likewise, bowling balls are still on display along with some of the original signage.
While some of the decor pays homage to the room’s original use, the space also has a new cruise ship theme, complete with tropical drinks at the bar, deck chairs, life preservers and fake palm trees.
Much like the club’s tropical, always- on-vacation atmosphere, “The vibe we are going for at Franklin Alley Social Club is very laid back and playful,” Heidi Sciari said. “We definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously here. It is a place to come with your friends or make new ones. We wanted to be the type of place where everyone feels comfortable. Whether you want to try your luck on the courts, hang in the arcade, sit with your friends and play a round of Jenga or just people watch. Whoever you are - young or old if you like fun we think you’ll fit right at home with us.”
The setting makes Franklin Alley Social Club special, too. Heidi Sicari said it’s “kind of speakeasy-like because of our fun underground location and alley entrance.”
Franklin Alley Social Club is more than just a standard bar. “We basically took all our favorite things and build them into what I have been calling a super bar,” she said. “Inside Franklin Alley you can find two shuffleboard courts, one bocce court, eight classic arcade games, board games, cocktails, craft beer and a killer hotdog and tater tot snack shack!”
While most people have played the tabletop version of shuffleboard, the staff at Franklin Alley Social Club is prepared to give patrons a tutorial on the deck rules. They will also answer any questions that arise during the game. The same goes for bocce.
The two shuffleboard courts and one bocce ball court cost $40to rent for one hour. Two or four people can play shuffleboard, while up to eight can play bocce. In either game, teams play eight frames.
Heidi expects to start a local shuffleboard league in February or March next year. She’s currently looking for other indoor shuffleboard leagues upstate, but she knows of one in Brooklyn and hopes one day to organize a travel tournament between the two cities.
For electronic gaming, Franklin Alley Social Club has eight classic coin-operated arcade games from the 1980s and 90s: Burger Time; Teenage Mutant Ninja Mutant Turtles; Mrs. Pac Man; Super Street Fighter II; Galaga; Off Road; NBA Jam; and DigDug. All games cost $0.25 and can have two players, though some can be played by up to four simultaneously.
Anumber of board games are also available to play.
On the club’s menu, there are tropical drinks, craft beers and sodas, along with hot dogs and tater tots. Beef hot dogs, by Hembold’s of Troy, will be available in a normal single serving size ($4) as well as a giant half pound Social Dog ($9) in a sub roll for sharing with friends. The staff will be testing out a variety of vegan hot dog alternatives ($4) to see which is popular with patrons. Gluten free buns cost $1 extra.
In addition to hot dogs, the concession-style snack shack serves tater tots, of the standard frozen variety, in single ($5) and social ($12) sizes. Customers can choose from 15 toppings and 10 sauces for both the hot dogs or the tater tots.
To order, guests check off boxes on a paper slip and bring to the counter, then a food runner will bring out the order.
“Frank and I don’t have culinary backgrounds so we’re keeping it simple,” Heidi Siari said.
Membership is not required to visit Franklin Alley Social Club, but it will be available. Anyone can stop by for a drink and to play a few games during normal hours. However, one can purchase a lifetime membership for a one-time fee of $150. Members get discounts on games, space rentals and merchandise, plus a free birthday drink that comes in a pineapple. They also gain access to the members-only “deck” overlooking the courts.
Though it will be possible to rent out the entire club, Heidi Sicari expects a more popular option will be to rent the VIP deck for smaller private parties.
As the basement hangout enters a new era, some of its former regulars recall old memories of the space. Troy Insurance Broker Bill Fagan, of Wm. J. Fagan & Sons, Inc. said his family company insured the Knights of Columbus building for decades. To this day, there is still a Wm. J. Fagan Insurance card hanging on the K of C Bowling League Sponsors board at the Franklin Alley Social Club. “Both my grandfather, father and uncle were longtime members of the Knights of Columbus,” Fagan said in the press release. “In the 50s and 60s, it was a very active social organization. I used to go with my father when he bowled in the leagues a couple nights a week.” Fagan is looking forward to seeing what the Sicaris have done with the old place.
Halfmoon resident Kathleen O’Brien said her father, John L. McTavey (1896-1970), as a member of the Troy Knights of Columbus most of his adult life. “Hewas always a member of their bowling team whose picture often appeared in the Troy Record,” she said in the release. “I do not remember the date, but sometime in the thirties he bowled a perfect game. This was a rarity at the time. I remember newspaper articles from the Record sports pages recording the event. He received an elaborate medal for the feat which he wore on an old fashioned watch fob.”
Looking ahead to the future, Franklin Alley Social Club aims to be a place for patrons to make many more good memories.
The club plans to establish permanent hours after some experimentation. For now, it will be open from 4 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday, 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
More information about Franklin Alley Social Club is available online at www.franklinalleysocialclub.com or www.facebook.com/franklinalleysocialclub.
Franklin Alley Social Club can be contacted by calling (518) 626-8584 or emailing hello@franklinalleysocialclub.com.