PORTLAND, Maine — Justin and Samantha Juray first opened Just-In-Time Recreation in May of 2021.
The couple said they purchased the property days before the previous owner was about to close the bowling alley doors for good.
Hence the name.
“People come in here as strangers, but they leave as friends and family, and we've met a lot of them," Samantha Juray said.
"We're not getting rich, believe me. It's for the community," Justin Juray said. "It's something that we enjoy. We enjoy the faces, the smiling faces and the birthday parties. Even the grumpy people usually turn around and are smiling by the end of it."
Justin and Samantha were at the bowling alley last month, when a lone gunman entered, opened fire, and killed seven people there.
Samantha was working. Justin was bowling with his father. They both saw everything.
“It took me a second. I heard a bang, and I thought something was wrong," Justin Juray said. "I thought a balloon had popped or something, and I looked up and saw him standing there, and that's when I realized this isn't supposed to be happening."
In the weeks since the tragedy, the Jurays have been leaning on their community and each other. Initially, they weren’t sure they would ever re-open.
“Certain people were angry and let me know that's not an option: 'He can't win. He doesn't win. He's not here anymore. We are still here, and this is for our community,'" Justin Juray said. "It just shows me that the community needs this."