Round 1 Bowling to open alley at Broadway Mall in Hicksville

Japanese-owned Round 1 Bowling & Amusement will open its first New York bowling alley at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville.

Company officials said they expect Round 1 to open in early July.

The two-story facility will occupy 50,000 square feet and offer bowling, billiards, darts, karaoke, pingpong, dining and arcade games, including rhythm and dance games that allow consumers to dance along with music.

It will occupy a space that had been used by seasonal stores such as Spirit Halloween, across the hall from clothing retailer H&M.

A company representative said about 70 full- and part-time employees will be hired.

“Broadway’s operators — Pacific Retail Capital Partners — pursued the opportunity with Round 1 because it provides the wide range of attractions Broadway wants to offer the Long Island community,” said Amaka Oweazim, Broadway Mall’s marketing manager. “It has a proven track record in Japan, as well as in the United States, where 15 locations are already open.”

Round 1 also has 105 locations in Japan, Oweazim said.

As “retailers continue to shuffle” and more stores become vacant, the retail and entertainment combination at malls will gain power as a way to attract consumers, said Marshal Cohen, senior retail analyst with the NPD Group, a Port Washington market research company.

“It’s a trend that has been popular across the nation for some years now, but has been slow to reach Long Island because we tend to outperform other areas of the country in the retail sector,” he said.

“Space on Long Island is also at a premium so that has made the transformation more of a challenge. However, we will start seeing more of that now.”

A second Round 1 location is scheduled to open in upstate Middletown at the end of this year.