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NORTH ATTLEBORO - The new owners of North Bowl are hoping to bowl customers over by transforming the alley into a family entertainment center.

Ed and Kelli Kinsley took over North Bowl in August, after buying the property from longtime owners Sheila and Larry Cohen. The Kinsleys have recently completed a $1 million renovation - upgrading everything from the game room to the menu to the bowling lanes themselves.

"For years, bowling was like an ice cream store that only offered one flavor. Now, the industry has discovered that bowling can be offered in many different flavors that appeal to different customer demographics at different times," Ed Kinsley said. "With activities including league play, kids' birthday parties, corporate parties, arcade games, upscale menu options, cocktails and late night cosmic bowling, we try to offer something for everyone.

"We hope to provide a bowling center where everyone from 5 years old to 95 years old will find an enjoyable bowling experience."

Gone are the days when the bowling alley featured cheap beer and hot dogs on steel rollers. The Kinsleys have added an upscale menu featuring pizza, 8-ounce Angus burgers, Caesar salads and refer to the property as a bowling center - not an alley. A visitor who hasn't dropped by North Bowl over the past six months might not recognize the place.

There are new bowling balls in new racks that also serve as tables, new high-back booths and refinished lanes. Inside and out, the building has a fresh coat of paint.

The Kinsleys were inspired by Lucky Strike Lanes, a chain of bowling lounges with a nightclub feel in California, where they lived before buying North Bowl.

"We were in real estate development in California, but I have experience in the bar and restaurant business and we wanted to get back into that," Kinsley said. "We looked around and stumbled upon a bowling alley that was for sale. So, we started looking nationwide.

"We found North Bowl and were able to put a deal together," he said. "I grew up in Mendon, which is why we were thinking about New England."

Response to the changes has been very positive, Kinsley said.

"Our business is up 75 percent," he said. "Part of that is attributed to the changes, and part is because bowling tends to do well when the economy is bad because it's a less expensive entertainment option.

"It would cost family of four going out to dinner at Applebees about $74 for dinner and drinks, while they can come here and bowl and have a pizza for half that much."

John Baker of Foxboro said the new atmosphere at North Bowl is terrific.

"It's beautiful. It's a lot of fun here," he said. "Ed and his family have made it even more fun with all of the changes they've made. The joint is really jumping, especially on Friday and Saturday nights." Besides transforming the lanes, the menu has changed, too.

The food service is managed by Justin Kranich, who was a head chef at Killington and worked as a sous chef in New York for several years before moving to the area.

The offerings include North Bowl Wild Pins - pork riblets with sauce - or the Ball Breaker - a Southwestern chicken egg roll with pepperjack cheese, jalapenos and chili peppers.

"Before it was 32 flavors of deepfried stuff," Kinsley said. "We still have some of the traditional deepfried favorites, but we also have a healthier menu with shrimp and steak, grilled chicken and even pizza.

"We're selling a lot more food by offering healthier choices. We're not trying to be gourmet, but offer something that's more upscale."

It's very much a family affair with Ed Kinsley working as the general manager; his wife, Kelli, handling the books; their daughter, Amanda, in charge of the game room; their son, Steve, handling the front counter; and even their 6-year-old son, Christopher, who is in charge of testing out the new 31 video games in the revamped game room.

Kinsley said his family has put a lot into designing programs for all different age ranges to enjoy.

There are plenty of new programs too, including children's birthday parities, which are so popular that Kinsley said they have had up to 20 on one weekend.

And from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, they offer cosmic bowling - when the lanes are lit with black lights and disco lights blaze on the sides of the lanes. Big screens play music videos, which Kinsley said is particularly popular with customers in their mid-20s.

About 1,000 people participate in league play, making up 35 percent of the center's bowling business. The other 65 percent comes from drop-in players - a flip-flop of the business model 20 years ago, when league play made up the bulk of the business.

"We believe league bowling is still an extremely important part of our business and that it will continue to be very important," Kinsley said. "We are just trying to expand the business by attracting new customers with a more diverse product offering."