Customer stories

Sunrise Lanes

Mike Propp and Hanna Walton, Owners

Sunrise Lanes in Casper, WY, is not your typical bowling alley. In addition to a full service bowling center with 24 lanes, Sunrise Lanes features “the best cosmic light show in Casper” and a top-rated restaurant that serves Prime Rib on Friday and Saturday nights. Its 25,000 square foot space also includes a mini bar and a drive-up liquor store.

Opportunity knocks

Mike Propp and Hanna Walton took over Sunrise Lanes on January 1, 2019, seeing a promising opportunity to turn around a well-established but struggling business. The couple immediately went to work on improving the space and the offerings.

“We basically did not live on the black line this last year because we wanted to put it back into the center,” explained Mike. “It was an older building and required a paint job, (bowling) balls, shoes, just fixing [things up]. It’s like if you buy an old house, you gotta spend a little bit.”

Business challenges

When the sublease for Sunrise Lanes’ restaurant tenant came up, Mike and Hannah decided to take over the establishment. But it happened during the slowest season of the year, and they needed additional funds to make it happen.

“It was a whole new dimension to our business and it was just like a startup—new employees, inventory, liquor, and food,” said Mike. “We’d pretty much put everything operationally back into the business and then here came a new mountain to climb.”

Perfect timing

Just when they were considering their options, Mike and Hanna received an email about Working Capital. As customers of Worldpay from FIS, the business was eligible for this customized funding solution that supports cash flow as it’s paid for via a percentage of credit card transactions.

“We were searching for funding and it was a happy coincidence that we got the email,” said Hanna. “And taking payments right out of our credit card transactions was just perfect. We love the structure and the simplicity.”

Moving ahead

Sunrise Lanes received $21,000 in Working Capital on September 16, 2019. The funding has helped with every aspect of their operations, from inventory to marketing to payroll.

It’s apparent that Hannah and Mike are really customer and community focused. “The advance has really made a difference. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to do some of the things we’ve been able to do,” said Mike. “With the advance, we had money for payroll so that we could keep people on – so they still had a job and got a paycheck.”

A bright future

Hannah and Mike say their investment in Sunrise Lanes has been worth it. With a new menu and improved service, the community has enthusiastically welcomed the upgrades to the business. A lot of new people are coming in and there’s a general excitement about the changes in both the bowling center and the restaurant. And, now that they own the entire facility, Hannah and Mike look forward to expanding their options to host birthday parties, holiday events and other celebrations. As for making payments on the cash advance? Not a problem.