AJ FALLS OFF ROOF - LIBERTY LANES RAISES ROOF
- Justus A.S. Clayfield
- Oct 31, 2024
- 13 min read
Updated: Aug 10, 2025
In a story shared with me privately by a previous employee, I learned that Alan Jeppesen (the owner of AJ’s Bowling Alley up until May 31st, 2023) had drunkenly fallen off the roof of his own building during management of the company. With further investigation, I found reports of the bowling alley’s bar serving alcohol to underage minors. There was also rampant sexual intercourse, drug usage, and in the 80’s leading up until 1992, illegal gambling. The more I researched this story, the more I found myself shocked at the transformation this establishment has undergone. Interestingly enough, all of these things were public knowledge, except to the new owners Gary Rhoads and Robert Endicott.
“It seemed to me… and this is why it was so comical.” Robert told me with a chuckle in his second interview. “That when we bought the place, we didn’t actually know the real history because all these people came out of the woodworks telling us all of what they have ever done [here]. Whether it was drugs or sex or illegal gambling or whatever the case was, it seemed to be the haven for bad behavior.”
A sad example of this “bad behavior” is exemplified when, on February 24th of 2022, Bonners Ferry police officers were called to address Jacob A. Wanner-
Vanetten, a 32 year old man who experienced an overdose while smoking and ingesting fentanyl in the bathroom. He survived only to be arrested, charged, and sentenced to prison. Incidents like these showcase the chaotic environment hosted by previous owner Alan Jeppesen. However, with Robert and Gary, the bowling alley is once more safe for families. Though credit of this could be attributed to their extensive renovation of the building lasting over six months, the real reason behind their apparent turn-around lies in Liberty Lanes’ new leadership towards a more secure future.
“AJ’s, before becoming Liberty Lanes, suffered a poor public image due to its owner Alan.” I told Robert bluntly in his first interview. “Both past employees and customers have personally shared stories with me detailing incidents of public intoxication, crass language, and general disrespect. This includes a story of Alan drunkenly falling off the building. My mother was one of these people who encountered unprofessional customer service when I celebrated my 16th birthday with family and friends. The question, based on all that, is what has changed in this company now that it’s under your ownership?”
“Well, I will say that the professionalism has gone through the roof!” Robert said while motioning with his hand. “That’s actually part of what has irked some people in this community is because we treat this place like a business now, and not like somebody’s playpen. Because that reputation went on for so long, there [were] many members that came in here that were irritated with us because we were upholding that professionalism and those boundaries. They felt they still had the right to get things for free or disrespect the building [so] there was a little bit of a backlash when we first opened because of how we wanted this place to run like a business.”
Robert went on to give an example of this by telling a story of a family who demanded free bowling after claiming Alan had always given them such. Understanding that their heart was in the right place, Robert kindly but firmly enforced their new policy that all customers must indeed pay money for the services provided.
“I just told them…” Robert told me. “I understand your criticism and discontent towards actually having to pay for bowling now, but that comes with a normal running business.”
Afterall, the customer exists only as a customer for a paid price. This family was unhappy with Robert’s decision, but Liberty Lanes hasn’t suffered without them. In fact, they’ve continued to grow in spite of difficult occurrences like these. Mainly, this is because of what they offer to the community.
“I remember them even getting upset saying, ‘The customer is always right!’ I understand but that doesn’t mean they always get things for free.” Robert bluntly relayed to me concerning this family. “They had fun, they embraced the service and therefore, just like normal society, they’ll have to pay for it. Now what is different, like I said, is the professionalism. We respect our customers [and] we withhold the language. The bar is a little bit different (especially [at] nighttime) because I give some freedom to my bartenders to articulate and banter with customers. But out here…” Robert referred to the bowling alley itself. “If you notice, there’s no beer memorabilia. There’s nothing like that [because] I have ensured that it’s family oriented out here. If there’s any signage, it’s soda related, it’s awards, [or] it’s music related. [By doing this, we] are respecting our religious community because some of them have voiced [that they] don’t want to see any of that portrayed out here.”
“In that spirit…” I asked Robert in the context of his answer. “What steps have you taken and are currently taking to repair your image within the community?”
“Well, the best thing we have done is just being consistent, holding true to our boundaries, and ensuring that we deliver good customer service. We actually care about a lot of the customers that come in here, so it’s almost upsetting when people get upset because they…” Robert stopped before continuing so he could clarify. “I’m going to be 100% honest when I say this, when they are entitled to what they feel they deserve. Generally, anybody who walks in with that mentality is going to be disappointed when they leave because we deliver an equal service amongst everyone. We don’t put anybody on a pedestal here. We make sure that everybody has fun, enjoys themselves, and everybody is respectful of everybody else. Now automatically, some people get really upset because they want to be the center of the universe or they want to be the loudest in the room or they want to have more space than anybody else. Those are challenges that present themselves, but the best way we articulate [this] is to uphold those boundaries and make sure that everybody really does have fun without it being at the expense of [others].”
“What is Liberty Lanes’ goal within the community?” I asked as a follow-up question to Robert’s last answer.
“Our goal within the community is to maintain this establishment as a family-focused business. As time goes on, our bar [and pool hall] has been expanding, but one of the biggest challenges [is] to make sure we uphold our goal of serving the community, maintaining entertainment for everyone, and having a place that’s safe, hospitable, and clean. The biggest challenge, I’d say with that, has been keeping the lanes up to date. Especially since, as time goes on, bowling has decreased in terms of its total attendance. Bowling is a very old sport. Post-pandemic, the numbers have gone up a little bit, but historically, it has been declining so those people that are knowledgeable about how to run a bowling alley have decreased. They’ve even [come] out with new bowling machines that are maintenance free because bowling mechanics are [so] hard to come by.”
“How does Liberty Lanes hope to expand in the coming years?” I asked Robert forthrightly.
“In the coming years, we’re hoping to bring on a couple interesting new items. We haven’t really mentioned this to anybody yet, so you’ll be the first to hear this.” Robert said excitedly. “What you can probably see [with] this building in the coming years is an asphalt parking lot, new signage out front, [and] we are currently developing some plans to build a deck out of the bar.” Robert went on to describe to me their intent of converting the bar windows into rollups so that customers could be served drinks outside. “We have some really awesome plans to cater to the social life of Bonners Ferry. That would probably be one of the more interesting things coming up.”
While Robert and Gary continue to be proactive in their plans for the bowling alley’s future, Liberty Lanes already generates interest in the community independent of these plans. This was evidenced last October 27th when Liberty Lanes hosted a Halloween costume party also featuring live music performed by the Turnspit Dogs; a local band composed of Ken LaBarbera, Gary Lawrence, Richard Young, and Jeff Kelly. Together, they were able to motivate an enthusiastic atmosphere for both customers and employees alike.
With celebrations like these, Liberty Lanes continues to represent themselves, like Robert described in his first interview, “as a hub for families”. This was made clear to me after being invited (as the independent press) to observe and capture the Turnspit Dogs’ performance. Through this, I was able to record abundant footage of many people bowling, eating, drinking, dancing, playing pool, conversing, and even playing beer pong. There were so many people and so much going on that I found myself continuously moving from one area of the bowling alley to another so as to equally report the entire night. Even still, it’s difficult to properly relate everything that happened simply because so many people were having such a good time. Due to the separation the new owners had created, both families and friends were able to celebrate without fear of interference, yet (unlike the chaotic environment hosted by Alan Jeppesen) everyone was safe and protected.
“Liberty Lanes operates under a policy that no one under 21 can enter the bar area, and that everyone’s ID is checked regardless of how many times they’ve visited before.” I summarized before asking Robert. “Is this accurate?” “Yes.” Robert responded simply.
“Did one of your bartenders receive backlash from a local law enforcement officer for upholding this policy?” I asked in tandem with my last question.
“Oh gosh!” Robert let out while repositioning himself in his seat.
“You already know what I’m talking about.” I said with a chuckle, gauging myself by Robert’s response.
“Yes, I do.” Robert stated. “So with this upgrade, we have held to our standard that we’re not going to lose our license like AJ. We’re not even going to get slapped on the hand like most other places in town.” Of course, Robert is referring to when Alan Jeppesen lost the right to serve alcohol because of underage drinking in AJ’s before becoming Liberty Lanes. “For this reason, like I said, there’s a problem that we’ve been battling in this building and it’s the entitlement. I don’t want to say we don’t care because we do care, but it doesn’t give weight to breaking the rules that we have put in place to protect ourselves. We do check every ID. What we will generally ask is do you have your ID on you? Because it’s a required law in the state of Idaho that you have a form of identification on you while consuming a controlled substance. So for that reason, we’ve had some individuals come in (specifically this law enforcement officer) who felt that because he was sitting at a bar but was not consuming an alcoholic beverage, and because of his history in law enforcement, he felt that he was not required to adhere to the rules and standard operating procedures we had put in place. Well, there was some backlash from this individual because they felt that because they have a history of serving this community, they didn’t have to adhere to the standards of certain businesses. Whatever the reason may be, there was some backlash that I faced for this and it was because I held to my boundaries. They refused to come back in because they didn’t want to feel the need to have their ID on them. Though he was within the premises of the bar and we had our rules in place, there was some pushback.”
“Is this a retired law enforcement officer?” I looked for more information concerning this confrontation.
“It is, correct.” Robert confirmed. “I believe this officer was part of ISP [Idaho State Police], so it was jarring to me that while knowing these laws, they felt they didn’t have to respect our rules in this establishment. It was a little bit disappointing because we want everybody to respect the rules.”
“Who was the bartender involved?” I asked directly.
“Her name is Cheyenne, she’s our nighttime manager.” Robert answered easily. “Excellent bartender! She has tons of history in Sandpoint bartending. [She’s] spent her entire life in the hospitality industry so her knowledge and adherence to serving rules are very strict. She can be a little bit rough around the edges because of how many bar crowds she’s had to deal with over her lifetime, but her experience has really shined through to help us keep the standards of this place at where they need to be.”
“She’s my favorite bartender.” I slipped up with a personal opinion, something I’m usually apt at avoiding.
“She’s incredible!” Robert agreed with me. “She’s awesome, but the case and point though, is she stuck to her guns and she held to our policy. While I respect your law enforcement history, I respect your contributions to the state, to the community, I have to hold everyone to the same standards, so unfortunately, I need you to have your ID on you if you’re going to be sitting at this bar. There was a refusal, [and he] was upset.”
“Where did that situation lead?” I asked, wondering if there was ever any resolution.
“It ended respectfully.” Robert said matter-of-factly. “I articulated via email that we’re standing our ground. I supported the bartender’s decision to not serve them because of the refusal to obtain ID. I held to our guns on that one, and so did she, and I really respected that [because] it’s what has contributed to portraying that reputation that we hold to our boundaries. We want this place to be known for following rules.”
“What statement would Liberty Lanes like to make in regards to the community?” This question was important to me, considering the change that has been embraced.
“As the owner and representative of Liberty Lanes, if I had to say anything to the community…” Robert began. “It’d be two things. I'm sorry that the change has negatively affected some. I’m sorry that any history that people had might have been overwritten by the new changes. What I’m not sorry about is we have done this with families in mind. We have guaranteed by making these changes not only to stay ahead of change so business doesn’t perish, but also ensuring that this place is here for generations to come so that people can make more memories. I’m sorry that change had to happen but I’m not sorry that I did it so people can continue to have those loving memories of one another for time to come.”
In episode 15 of Interesting People during an interview with Ken LaBarbera who is well respected as a mechanic, musician, and a father in Boundary County, Liberty Lanes became the center of attention when he made the following comments independent of being asked.
“Wonderful place.” Ken had said on his own. “Great food, great for the community! That place really is great for families. You have young people, old people. People who want to sit at the bar and drink beer and people who want to play pinball or arcade games or bowling or whatnot. It’s just good for our community which is good for the family.”
Those who know Ken personally understand that any recommendation comes as high praise considering he doesn’t make many recommendations to begin with. This appreciation is mutual as Liberty Lanes has rehired Ken LaBarbera to perform at an Ugly Sweater Party on Friday the 13th of this coming December. According to their Facebook page, there'll be a competition for the ugliest sweater worn between 6-10PM. In addition to this, I even spoke to Ken personally after the events of October 27th to confirm his presence at this event.
“How is Liberty Lanes a safe place for families?” I asked Robert in his second interview.
“It’s a safe place for families because it’s not inhabited by the worst personalities of the area anymore.” Robert told me very bluntly. “I know that’s a little harsh when I say that, but we all read in the paper when the guy overdosed on fentanyl in the women’s bathroom. AJ’s been busted how many times for over serving and serving minors? It’s an amalgamation of misbehavior. A lot of people in the community really appreciated it because they were able to let loose there, [but] it’s safe for the community now because it’s treated like a real business. We make sure it’s safe. It’s well lit there; you don’t have to worry about somebody attacking you in a dark corner because of how poorly lit it was. I argue that it’s safe for families because of the cleanliness standards, the hygiene, the overall structure and rules that are in place. If somebody did come in and start acting aggressively, they wouldn’t be in there for long instead of AJ talking them down which might instigate another problem. [It’s] safe for families because we cater to the families and their needs.”
“What do you have to say to all of your regulars?” I asked Robert in the final minutes of his interview.
“I have to say thank you.” Robert spoke sincerely. “Not just thank you, thank you! They’re not just there to support the bowling alley, they’re there to support Gary and I also. I do thank them personally when I see them a lot of the time, but I actually want to say thank you because without them, this obviously wouldn’t be happening. We’re doing it for the community, we’re doing it for them, so them showing up on a regular basis and supporting us demonstrates that we’re making the right decision. That demonstration makes us motivated to continue serving them.”
“What do you have to say to new customers?” I asked Robert in connection to my last question.
“To new customers, I’d say welcome and give us a shot honestly.” Robert expressed in a friendly voice. “We’re a little bit of a different animal because we’re an entertainment establishment, so we may not have the clear cut lines of a restaurant or a bar. I’d say welcome, just have fun, and be respectful. By doing such, I think you can find it can be a second home.”
“What do you have to say to the people of Boundary County?” I asked Robert my final question.
“[To] Boundary County, I’d just say I appreciate everybody.” Robert answered kindly. “I appreciate all of their commitment to the community. Just give a little more credence to the newcomers because a lot of them are like-minded. So instead of demonizing them, be open to helping them find a place where they belong.”
If you’re interested in learning more about Liberty Lanes, I’ll be releasing an episode of Interesting People featuring them in the future. Between the information in this newspaper and the upcoming interview, you will observe a very clear evolution in Bonners Ferry’s local bowling alley towards a brighter, better future. While AJ, the original owner, literally fell off the roof, Liberty Lanes has metaphorically raised the roof as they gain back the community’s trust.
Liberty Lanes is located at 6662 Lincoln St. in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. They’re closed Mondays, but open the rest of the week starting at 12PM. You can also learn more about them through their Facebook page (facebook.com/libertylanes9b). I’m very grateful for the opportunity to tell their story considering my personal connection to the bowling alley.
Candidly,
JUSTUS A.S. CLAYFIELD
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