It would be inadequate to call Garage a bowling alley, even though bowlers roll strikes down its 20 lanes. It's also not just a pool hall, despite its 25 billiards tables, or a restaurant, even though Chef Garrett Michael Brown offers a menu with rustic pizzas and slow-roast pork ribs every night. Owners Jill Young-Rosenast and Alex Rosenast used their years of experience running venues such as RockCandy and Temple Billiards to create an all-inclusive playland for the 21-and-older crowd.

The Rosenasts carefully designed every inch of Garage's 40,000 square feet of space, an old Plymouth dealership and garage on Capitol Hill built in 1928. At first, it was primarily a pool hall, but it's been changing and expanding since day one. In addition to the fun inside, it now boasts a sprawling-but-stylish covered patio, complete with bar, so that there's no delay in dispatching cocktails and bottles from an extensive wine list. (In the winter, the space is heated.) Despite these changes, the original industrial vibe still permeates the decor. The Rosenasts filled the various spaces with high ceilings and exposed wooden trusses, which hang over accents of high-gloss automotive paint and '50s-style furniture.

Other areas seem more like art galleries. In the Echo Room—one of the Garage's private spaces—a 50-foot photo mural from photographer Nick Brandt depicts an elephant herd led by its matriarch, harkening back to a time before pachyderms came with GPS. Private events also fill the Star Lounge, which houses pool tables, six additional bowling lanes, and two of Jill's own art installations, including a display of dolls recovered from bombed factories in Eastern Bloc countries.