Blancher is a lanky 38 year old New Orleans native, the type of man who’ll shake your hand as quickly as he smiles. He grew up around Mid City Lanes, but never dreamed he’d one day own the place. In fact, as he readily admits, he never really went bowling.
    The story of Rock ‘N’ Bowl, in fact, has an unusual genesis. As Blancher explains it , it started with a lucky pilgrimage to Medjugorje, in what was then Yugoslavia, in the fall of 1988. "New Orleans was buzzing about these apparitions of the Virgin Mary that people had seen," says Blancher. "I wanted to see it for myself." He witnessed nothing unusual. But before going back, he placed a petition on a mountainside altar for a secret dream he’d been harboring. "Help me find something that would get my whole family involved.," he wrote, and went home. "Later that year," remembers Blancher, "someone asked me if I wanted to buy a bowling alley.
    It was Mid City Lanes that was on the block. Opened in 1941, it is New Orleans’ oldest center. Originally located across the street from Pelican Stadium, Mid City enjoyed glory days in a busy sports neighborhood. But pro baseball moved out of New Orleans, and the city razed Pelican Stadium in 1958. Larger, more modern bowling centers opened in surrounding suburbs, and this seemed to seal the fate for the small old- fashioned Mid City Lanes. By 1988, the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus found itself saddled with a failing bowling center and looking for a buyer. "I stopped by to see it," recalls Blancher, "My first impression was that it was a beautiful place. It was painted kind of piecemeal with whatever colors were handy, but besides that, it was just like something out of 1958. "But, " he continues, "no operator in the city would touch it."
    By that time, Blancher- a self professed jack- of- all- trades-- had already tried his hand at teaching, catering, selling insurance, and even modeling. He thought Mid City Lanes had a rustic charm that would make it ideal for catering parties. Securing a personal loan, he made an offer. For $25,000, Blancher found himself the owner of the bowling center, the fixtures, and equipment. "I heard through the grapevine that every bowling operator thought I was a complete fool for taking it over," he smiles. The skeptics had their reasons. The year before Blancher bought it, Mid City Lanes posted a $50,000 loss.
    On Halloween Day, 1988, the center did a gross sale of only $29, including bowling and bar. The following morning, Blancher took it over. Deborah Blancher says that she thought her husband was a little "nuts". Indeed, Blancher almost proved his critics right. Two months after he bought Mid City Lanes, he was talking with his lawyer about bankruptcy proceedings. His bank turned him down for another loan. Still, he kept the lanes open, hiring local artist Tony Green to paint an optimistic mural depicting the former Pelican Stadium. And rather than add amenities such as underground ball returns or automatic scoring, he changed the impact pinsetter to a magic eye. I wanted the place to look just like 1958," he reasons.
    At first, a few folks trickled in. Actors from a nearby theater would stop by after rehearsals, and a transient piano player named Billy Burke played for tips. Then one year after buying Mid City Lanes, Blancher thought he’d try booking a band on a weekend. Nobody knew it then, but it was the birth of Rock ‘N’ Bowl. Louisiana rockabilly singer Joe Clay appeared in one of those early bands. It was his first gig in a bowling center. "To be honest, I didn’t think it would work," he acknowledges. "But after the first hour, people started jumping around on the dance floor- even where they were bowling. "Now," says Clay, "everybody wants to play here. This place is unique, man."
    Blancher competes with other music clubs by offering low cover charges. He seldom goes above $5 for admission. His real drawing card however, has been a flair for offbeat promotions and an obvious love for bad, bowling related puns. There are, er, leagues of examples. Mid City Lanes offers free corned beef on St. Patrick's Day and calls it "Shamrock and Bowl." Thanksgiving means "Pluck and Bowl" for a turkey that cries "gob-bowl, gob-bowl." A benefit for families of troops stationed in the Persian Gulf was called, of course, "Iraq and Bowl." Once Blancher celebrated Elvis’ birthday by having a local impersonator emerge from behind the pins in a cloud of smoke. It was so popular that now he does it twice a year, on Elvis’ birthday and "deathday."
    This year, the local newspaper balked at one of Blancher’s promotions. It was a Good Friday show by a local gospel group, and the editors wondered about the appropriateness of a bowling alley church choir. Blancher explained all about Medjugorje. The ad ran. "People tell me they look forward to my ads each week," he shrugs. "I figure if they don’t get a laugh, at least they get a groan." And, as the former salesman quickly points out, Mid City Lanes gets attention.
    Along with regular crowds numbering several hundred (much more during Mardi Gras and other holidays), this one of a kind bowling center attracts filmmakers and has been featured in music videos, and Miller Beer commercial. Blancher recently acquired exclusive rights to the name Rock ‘N’ Bowl" and is considering franchising. Rock ‘N’ Bowl still means long hours, but after four years, Blancher can claim a $36,000 salary while the lanes turn a $25,000 annual profit.
    But even more important, he says, his family can work for the center. doing everything from cleaning the pits to typing the monthly "Rock and Bowlletin." It is, he believes, an answer to his prayer. The catering experience has paid off, too. Mid City Lanes features a late night kitchen that serves such delicacies as fried alligator sausage. There’s a tradition in New Orleans of lagniappe , which means "a little something extra."
    Team bowling at Mid City Lanes includes a gay league, a yuppie league, and a mentally handicapped league, but Blancher discourages some serious bowlers from coming to a place that might not be- well, serious enough. "This will never be a big- league alley," he admits cheerfully. "But the recreational bowler loves it here. People who have never bowled before come for the music. "Do I have to bowl?" they ask. Ten minutes later they’re putting on shoes and the next thing you see is they’re bowling, and jumping up and down and screaming about it." According to Blancher, the easy-going atmosphere at Mid City appeals to the first- timers. "The lights are down and the music’s playing, so who really cares what your score is?" he reasons. It’s Blancher's willingness to experiment with new ideas that has breathed new life into a historic New Orleans bowling center. " If I hadn’t bought it, I believe these lanes would not be open today," he says. Judging by the response, New Orleans is glad they’re open, too. For Rock ‘N’ Bowlers, these are the good old days.