Remember the questions facing experiential retail during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic? The big question was how soon consumers would feel comfortable returning to movie theaters, high-end bowling alleys and sprawling adult-oriented arcades.
Today, those concerns have evaporated, as consumers have returned in big numbers to everything from dine-in movie theaters and indoor pickleball centers to bocce ball courts and Asian-themed arcades.
An example of the strong rebound of experiential retail can be seen in the Minneapolis market. That’s where Puttshack, a tech-based indoor mini-golf center, late last month signed a lease at the Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota.
The entertainment center will be the first Puttshack location in the Twin Cities market when it opens in the spring of 2024.
The retail space of more than 25,000 square feet will feature four tech-infused miniature-golf courses. And golfers won’t need those stubby pencils and tiny pads of paper: Puttshack uses sensors to keep track of golfers’ scores.
Puttshack courses feature unique obstacles. One of the company’s most famous holes features oversized red cups, daring golfers to play a modified version of beer pong.
Other well-known Puttshack holes include those based on air hockey, roulette and Connect Four. There’s also a true/false hole that asks questions a question. Players then shoot their ball toward either the “true” or “false” side of the hole depending on their answers.
The Southdale Center location will offer more than golf. The two-floor space will also house a pair of full-service bars and an outdoor patio with seating for up to 100 guests. The Edina location will feature a private event space for up to 80 customers.
“We’re excited to see continued growth and expansion of our tech-infused mini golf concept, especially to Minneapolis and St. Paul, two thriving cities in the heart of the Midwest,” said Dave Diamond, president of Puttshack, in a statement.
Puttshack is just one of the entertainment concepts from the co-founders of Topgolf — which already has a presence in the Twin Cities market with its Brooklyn Park location — Flight Club and AceBounce. Puttshack’s founders refer to their niche as “competitive socializing.”
While the Edina location will be the first Puttshack in the Twin Cities market, it won’t be the last. The company’s founders announced that they are also opening a Puttshack in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood later in 2024.
Puttshack was founded in 2018 and currently has five locations in the United States: Chicago, St. Louis, Miami, Atlanta and Boston. There are four Puttshacks in the United Kingdom, too.
In yet another sign that consumers are not afraid to gather in groups, Puttshack is planning more than 12 new locations in the next two to three years.