EP# 22: Striking Joy: Jason Breault's Tale of Pinz Hadley and the Art of Entertainment Bowling

What makes Jason Breault with Pinz Hadley a good neighbor?

Have you ever laced up a pair of bowling shoes and felt that rush of excitement as you took to the lanes? Meet Jason Breault from Pinz Hadley, the man behind the ultimate entertainment experience that's so much more than just bowling. In our latest chat, Jason rolls out the story of how he found his passion in the alley and turned it into a hub of fun that includes axe throwing, ping pong, and even a hint of philanthropy with the Western Mass Ghostbusters. His tale is not just about strikes and spares; it's a testament to the joy of bringing people together and the importance of wearing those funky, yet functional, bowling shoes.

During our heart-to-heart, Jason opens up about personal losses that have reshaped his outlook on life, reinforcing the value of family and time well spent. He doesn't just manage Pinz Hadley; he infuses it with a spirit of community and joy. If you're curious about the daily specials that keep the locals coming back or the hidden gems within this eclectic venue, Jason's enthusiasm will bowl you over. So, tune in and discover why Pinz Hadley is the place where surprises are just around the corner, and every visit is a chance to make new memories.

To learn more about Pinz Hadley go to:
https://www.pinzbowl.com/hadley

Pinz Hadley
(413) 387-0550

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Liz Lemon.

Speaker 2: 0:11

Welcome to Good Neighbor podcast. Are you in need of some bowling? Surprisingly, might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing Jason Bro with Pins Hadley. Jason, how you doing.

Speaker 3: 0:24

I'm doing well. How about you today?

Speaker 2: 0:26

Great, we are excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your business.

Speaker 3: 0:32

Well, we are a bowling alley, arcade, restaurant and venue for entertainment purposes. We have a variety of other activities that happen inside our venues, such as acts throwing, we have ping pong, we have billiards all stuff for people to come in and have fun.

Speaker 2: 0:57

How did you get into the business?

Speaker 3: 1:00

That's a funny story. I was transferring jobs and, believe it or not, the person who was the vice president of this company, pins, used to work at the company I used to work for before I chose to come here. We just started talking and he's like why don't you just come over to Pins? I've been in the food service industry for about 26 years. It was pretty much a non-brainer as far as jumping ship from where I was to here because of the location.

Speaker 2: 1:31

What are the myths and misconceptions in your industry?

Speaker 3: 1:35

Well, sometimes the issues that we have are oh, how long is a game take? Why do I need to wear shoes? There's a lot of little things that people ask us every day. It's for your safety, most of it, but people always are wondering why do we need shoes for bowling? It's like otherwise it's so you don't slip and fall because the oil lanes are oiled up and everything, so you have to slide and release. If you use regular sneakers, you could tumble and fall over and hurt yourself.

Speaker 2: 2:19

Outside of work. What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3: 2:23

Well, outside of work I have a passion. I'm a member of the Western Mass Schools Busters. We are a charity organization that raises, has fundraisers for local charities like Lorraine Soup Kitchen. We do food drives here at Penns for that charity once a year. That's my biggest passion is being part of the Western Mass Schools Busters. I also am a big movie buff. Yeah, that's pretty much all I had, and my family Family's first, actually, of course.

Speaker 2: 3:01

Let's change gears for a moment. Can you describe one hardship or life challenges that you rose above and can now say, because of it, you are better and stronger? What comes to mind?

Speaker 3: 3:12

Unfortunately, in the past year, I've lost three very important people in my life and I didn't think I could get out of it, but I persevered and it's making me a better person. I'm looking at things from a different perspective now and I'm trying not. I used to be like all I do is work, work, work. Now I realize that tomorrow is not promised, so I try to spend as much time with my family, but you need to work too. So, yeah, ultimately, that's been probably one of the biggest hardships, and under a year, I lost three people.

Speaker 2: 3:56

We are so sorry for your losses, thanks, but thank you Appreciate you sharing that with us. What is the one thing you wish our listeners knew about? Penns and Hadley?

Speaker 3: 4:08

That we're here. I get all the time, oh, I didn't know you were at Bowling Alley, I didn't know you had a restaurant, or I didn't know there was acts throwing here. And I get that all the time Like well, we've been here for this company this. Then you got here in 2018. We closed down for COVID for obvious reasons, but then we reopened back in May of 2021 or April of 2021. We're here. We're always trying to make I personally am always trying to make all the guests happy. My crew does a great job at it. But yeah, that's the one thing people just don't know that we're here and what we provide. And there's. I mean, I have social media where I'm pushing all our specials, because we have weekly specials, we have daily specials, so I'm just trying to get more people to realize that Penns and Hadley does exist. We're in the mall and just come on down and we're ready to have fun. How?

Speaker 2: 5:11

can our listeners learn more about pins at Hadley?

Speaker 3: 5:14

You can go on to pinsbowlcom. You can click on the link that says Hadley, and it has everything that we have available. It doesn't have all the arcade games that we have available, but it has bowling lanes, it has axe throwing. There is a brief menu. It tells you what the menus that we have are, what our specials are. I'm really excited because our next rollout of new menu starts this coming Monday and we're bringing back unlimited bowling so people can pay one price and pay for as long as they want. So that used to be a good thing and I'm hoping that since we're bringing it back, it could bring in more people.

Speaker 2: 5:56

Great Well, jason. I really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 3: 6:03

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPPalmercom. That's GNPPalmercom, or call 413-414-5940. Things to do.