Erin F.
Yelp
The outside of the building is a little misleading, as it is not in fact an abandoned building nor a relic of the past. The inside of Cape Ann Bowling is just what we were looking for - a clean, lively, friendly place to bring the kids bowling.
There were about 15 lanes (candlepin bowling!) that come with or without bumpers. Without bumpers, it is around $4 per person/hour. With bumpers, it goes by the hour ($26/hour), but it is pro-rated. That way, if your kids get bored after 15 minutes, they'll only charge you for the 15 minutes.
The staff was very friendly. We were there relatively early, around 1pm on a Sunday, so the place was pretty empty. The two men working were very nice and super helpful. Whenever something happened, they were right there to fix it.
There is a snack bar in the alley which sells small snacks like fries, pretzels, and pizza. They also sell hot drinks, cold drinks, and beer and wine. The guys working were very helpful with the snacks and brought them over to our lane.
There is also an arcade in the alley. There are a handful of games that spout out tickets for prizes at the main desk. They were not too expensive and added a nice way to finish off our bowling excursion.