Dale Schwartz began digging up his past last Wednesday, Nov. 22, when he officially celebrated the groundbreaking of Pinstripes just down the street from his native Beachwood. The bowling, bocce, and bistro establishment will be based at the Pinecrest mixed-use development currently under construction at I-271 and Harvard Road in Orange Village.

Schwartz, a Hawken School graduate, opened his first Pinstripes in Northbrook, Ill.,  in 2007, building on his memories of bowling as a child at the now-defunct Pepper Lanes in Woodmere. “I have a lot of warm memories of [Pepper Lanes], Schwartz says. “It was good old quality bowling.”

One decade later, Schwartz now has seven Pinstripes locations, with six more under construction. Quality bowling will return to the area when the Orange-based Pinstripes opens in mid-May as the tenth location—with the chain's growth poised to continue from there.

“There are a number of others in the pipeline,” Schwartz promises. “We plan to open four to five a year, starting in 2019.”

Work on the facility began about three weeks ago, but last week marked the official start of construction. “We’ve been doing the initial dirt work and pouring of the concrete,” explains Schwartz. “Now the vertical [construction] has started. We’ll be moving at a nice clip in the next few months.”

Orange mayor Kathy Mulcahy and other officials were on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking.

The Pinecrest location of Pinstripes will feature a 29,000-square-foot, two-story interior with 16 bowling lanes and eight bocce courts, which fits the Pinstripes theme. “It’s that duality of the bocce-bowling gaming,” explains Schwartz, citing the Italian roots of bocce and the American roots in bowling. Along with that classic combination, a dining area will feature Italian-American food made from scratch, and a full-service bar will offer local craft beers and cocktails.

Outside, there are two all-weather patios on both floors with additional bocce courts and fire pits.There is also space on the premises for private parties and events, accommodating up to 1,000 people. “It’s going to be a phenomenal venue,” says Schwartz.

Fairmount Properties and the DiGeronimo Companies completed the initial site work and began construction on the $230 million, pedestrian-friendly Pinecrest in October 2016. The mixed-use development features 87 apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of Class A office space, and a 145-bed AC by Marriott hotel, The entire Pinecrest project is still on track to be completed by May 2018.