Geronimo Hospitality believes Dorrbaker's will be a regional attraction

BELOIT — Geronimo Hospitality Group opened the doors to Henry Dorrbaker’s Pub and Play for an hour Wednesday, giving a glimpse of what the company hopes will becomes a regional draw for both families and late-night celebrants.

The glimpse was just that, a glimpse. Corporate Contractors Inc. is in the early stages of installing the duck pin bowling lanes and indoor mini-putt course. The kitchen appeared to be finished and the bar looks to be about ready. Still, there are thousands of little touches to be checked off between now and opening day — which is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Even though Geronimo hasn’t launched a major marketing blitz, its first general manager said the word already is spreading.

“I live in Waunakee, so I drive to Beloit every day, and I’ve been in Stoughton getting gas and had people tell me they’ve heard about Dorrbaker’s and asking me will it be open,” said Julio Pitre, who joined Geronimo in May. “We’ve also been getting calls from outside Beloit as well looking to book events here.”

Geronimo, which is owned by Hendricks Commercial Properties, launched construction in May with a ceremonial “first roll” of duckpin bowling balls. When complete, the 20,000-square-foot pub and play venue located along the banks of the Rock River in the Ironworks Campus will include a full kitchen and bar along with a stage, walk-up bar, space for yard games such as bags, along with Skee-ball, a miniature golf course, arcade games, racing simulators and the duckpin lanes.

The venue will be open to children and adults, but after 8 p.m. it will be an adults only venue.

Duckpin bowling was invented around 1900. The ball is smaller, about the size of a softball, and the pins are 9 inches tall. Players are allowed three rolls instead of two. There are only about 40 duckpin bowling alleys in the United States.

It’s the bowling component that led to Pitre coming to Beloit. He joined Geronimo from Portillo’s in Madison. Before that, though, he worked for Bowlero, a Virginia-based company that operates more than 350 bowling centers, mostly in the U.S.

“I actually had a recruiter reach out and say with my background at Bowlero that (Dorrbaker’s) would be the perfect place for me,” Pitre said. “I’m much more familiar with 10-pin bowling. I knew what duckpin bowling was and I’m having to shift my idea of what bowling is to this kind of bowling. This kind of bowling is a lot more fun.”

Pitre said they are in the process of hiring 70 to 90 full-time and part-time people to staff the place, which will have a maximum capacity of 430 people. The belief is that they’ll routinely draw customers within a 30- to 45-minute drive of Beloit and even further on weekends.

“The combination of things we’ll have here you really can’t find anywhere close by,” Pitre said. “Families can come in, stay at a hotel, spend several hours here, see some of the other Beloit attractions, hit a restaurant. That’s a great weekend.”