The bowling alley has been a huge part of Sandi Soroka's life since her parents bought it 54 years ago.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

"It's going to be tough."

Sandi Soroka was just eight years old when her parents bought Vernon bowling alley Lincoln Lanes.

Now, more than 50 years after her parents purchased the business she's made the difficult decision to put it up for sale.

"It was a very tough decision," Soroka said. "We have a lot of pride here... it was my first job, it was my daughter's first job, my grandson works here now, it's his first job."

The 14-lane, five-pin bowling alley has been a family favourite in Vernon since it opened in 1962. Soroka's parents, Allan and Ev Wiffen, bought the business in 1968, and she and her brother Gord Wiffen took over in 1989.

To Soroka, the bowling alley has been a permanent fixture for almost all her life and the decision to put it on the market wasn't an easy one.

'"It's our parents' legacy, and it's... our legacy as well... we take a lot of pride in it, it's such a big part of our lives," she said.

However, Soroka is now 61 and her brother is 64 and they want to retire.

"This is our retirement, we don't have a pension," she said.

While many Canadian cities have bowling alleys, compared to the sport's heyday in the 1950s and 1960s they are relatively few and far between.

Soroka said in the North Okanagan alone there used to be bowling alleys in Armstrong, Enderby, and Lumby – and Vernon even had two.

So why has Lincoln Lanes stood the test of time?

"It's one of those things that anybody can do, we've got from age three all the way up," she said.

Walk into Lincoln Lanes and it feels a bit like stepping back in time. It has a sense of history about it, with display cabinets containing dozens of trophies and faded photographs of teams long gone.

While the bowling technology is current, the place has an old-school charm about it and a concession with prices that look dated.

And it's still a busy place. Lincoln Lanes has about 550 league bowlers, plus various other teams like the Special Olympics.

They're also open for the general public and are booked solid for kids' birthday parties.

"Talking to people they are very upset to see it going," Soroka said. "We love the people, they are not real customers they are our friends."

But just because it's up for sale doesn't mean it's going away.

Soroka said she'd very much like to sell it to someone who will keep running it as a bowling alley.

She's also in no rush to sell and estimates it could take five years.

It's advertised nationally and she says is an attractive business for someone in the entertainment industry.

However, the 1.2-acre site is just a stone's throw from downtown Vernon and it is zoned for townhouses.

So would Soroka sell it to a housing developer?

"We don't want to," she says. "We'd be very hesitant to."

With three generations all being part of the business it's a decision that affects the entire family.

"When I found out they were going to sell it I cried," Soroka's daughter, Kiri Adams said. "It's hard, this is our family, this has been our life, I don't know anything different."

Adams says she was very close to her grandparents.

"This is a connection to them," she said. "It makes me sad."

Lincoln Lanes is for sale for $1,995,000. The realtor listing can be found here.

The 14 lane bowling alley

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

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