
Beginnings, 2022
The Bowling Club started as a little food truck being blown around by the cold southerlies of South Dunedin.
It was run by Jackie and Liam, who used to run around the little truck for five hours trying to feed the long queues that snaked around King Edward Street.
We may have had humble beginnings, but The Bowling Club has always been about big ideas. The Bowling Club asks the question: what if we could all come together and eat at the same place?
We believe there is enormous value in people coming together to share kai. We see an increasingly divided and lonely society, and The Bowling Club hopes to bring people together so there may be a little more warmth.

The eatery, 2023
When The Bowling Club started, Liam and Jackie had no plans of sticking around. We were going to try out this little project, go traveling and then come back to it when we wanted to.
But, The Bowling club is a concept with a life of its own. People believed in us, got excited and the word spread. We decided to keep the Bowling Club going rather than let it go.
In early 2023, we took out a lease on a building, terrified and having no idea if it was going to work out. Soon, we went from feeding 300 people a night to 1,000 people a night. The Bowling Club grew from a team of 2 to a team of 24.
In the meantime, our beautiful community eatery was filled with the spirit of thousands more.

Now, 2025
In many ways, we still feel uncertain and confused. We don’t know if The Bowling Club is going to work out in the long run. We are working as hard as we can to create a healthy business that will continue to serve the community for many years to come.
We have worked tirelessly over the last years to improve The Bowling Club and to provide a space and service that really meets people’s needs.
It has been a beautiful journey filled with so many beautiful people coming along for the ride. Thank you for ‘bowling’ with us.
We hope you stick around for the journey to see where the road is going to lead us next.