Alley owner thrown out by landlord

Dean Margiolas’s Ipswich Tenpin Bowling business is being evicted from its flood-damaged property at Bundamba.

Claudia Baxter

STILL reeling from the shock of being flooded, bowling alley owner Dean Margiolas now says he has been thrown out by his landlord.

Mr Margiolas, who owns Ipswich Tenpin at Bundamba, said his landlord terminated his lease and gave him until March 14 to leave.

It has been a double blow for the former tradesman who came to Australia from Chicago in 2000 and bought Ipswich Tenpin in 2001.

“I wanted something different. I thought it might be good,” Mr Margiolas said. “It was difficult at the start because I didn’t know what I was doing. But we got busier and busier and we would have been getting at least 2500 people bowling here a week.”

“It’s been here since 1981 so that’s 30 years.”

He said the previous owner had told him the building was above the 1974 flood level, so he had assumed it wouldn’t flood in January.

“Where I live at Bellbowrie I couldn’t get out and get here until the Saturday but I thought I’d be all right here,” he said.

“That’s until my staff got here and told me what it was like. It went about 1.2 metres into the building. It ruined everything.

“I have to say we had a lot of help from volunteers. That was quite overwhelming

“We didn’t hear anything from the landlord until last Wednesday. Then he said he wants us out by the 14th. I’ve heard he wants to develop the land, but he doesn’t tell me anything. I got a call saying, ‘You’re out’. That’s it.

“The lease says if the business gets interrupted by a natural disaster he can terminate the lease without prejudice.”

Now Mr Margiolas has to move while trying to find a new venue.

“It’s not like a fish and chip shop where you can just pick things up and move out. Each machine weighs 800 kilos,” he said.

“I’ve been on to the council and they said they would try to help me find a new location.

“If I can’t find one I’ll have to sell everything off and that will be the end of it. You need a very long uninterrupted span because you can’t have beams between the lanes. We’d like to stay in Ipswich. The nearest bowl is Richlands.”

Head machine technician Jason Podlich has been at Ipswich Tenpin for 20 years.

“I’m helping Dean get the machines out and then I’ll have to try to find a job and wait to see if we re-open,” Mr Podlich said.