Studio City bowling center joins Jerry's Deli in closing.

Patrons at the Sports Center Bowling Alley in Studio City have put up with a temporary bar and having to order food from outside vendors since a May 2002 kitchen fire shuttered the doors at the adjacent Jerry's Famous Deli.

Now the bowling alley itself has been closed, temporarily, for remodeling until after Labor Day.

The bowling alley, which shut its door July 15, according to John Boyle, operation manager, will get new carpets, flooring masking units, ceiling sidewall and counter tops in order to bring the facility up to state code.

All summer leagues have been canceled and bowlers will be awarded refunds, Boyle said. In addition, locker rental agreement have been extended until Dec. 1, 2003. A trailer has been set up on site to give patron more details and sign up those interested in winter bowling leagues, Boyle said.

Patrons at Sports Center Bowl, which opened in the 1950s, have long-enjoyed the convenient access to Jerry's deli and bar since it closed. Jerry's has operated a temporary cocktail station inside the bowling alley and patrons have been ordering food from take-out menus from nearby restaurants.

Jerry's officials initially said its flagship restaurant would reopen in October of 2002, but later set a new date for sometime in April of 2003. But by March the doors remained closed and there was little activity on site. Officials insisted the $375,000 rebuild was simply taking longer because of the need for modernizing some features of the inside, and then set a third re-opening for early summer.

Now, according to Boyle, officials are targeting a joint reopening with the bowling alley, however, that could not be confirmed by press time.