Maybe they used to make car parts
here, in this warehouse, on this pothole-littered road that cuts to the heart
of Hamtramck, where workers have been sweating while churning out cars and car parts
and countless other things for decades. Hard to guess what this particular space produced,
but these days, the sweat spawns from a more recreational pursuit.
The original Fowling Warehouse occupies what appears was a long-vacated industrial space. A genius idea, when you get down to it, one that hatched when a handful of beer drinkers were tailgating at the 2001 Indy 500. Whatever football-lobbing game they were playing eventually evolved into Fowling – a game where players throw a football at a rack of bowling pins. The great drinking games stem from the simplest concepts.
Here was the formula: Football + Bowling + Bar = Fowling Warehouse
The warehouse in Hamtramck opened for play in 2014. Since then, Fowling Warehouse has expanded to locations in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, as well as out-of-state venues in Indianapolis, Atlanta and Cincinnati. Hard to imagine any of them surpassing the sweet ambiance of Hamtramck, where an aging, hulking steel frame and concrete floor provide the shell. A couple dozen courts stretch side by side, leading to footballs and pins bouncing wildly. Players need to be on alert.
In between games, the bar serves up tons of beverages, including a nice selection of craft beers, IPAs, hard ciders and seltzers. Players are invited to bring their own food. Show up and join open play for $12 or reserve a court for a group of any size for $120 for two hours. Just come ready to sweat, this ain’t Granddad’s bar game.
But it might be where he worked.
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