Dive Brief:
- Puttshack will open its first location, and its 19th overall, in Edina, Minnesota, on Oct. 9, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
- The eatertainment chain’s location is opening at the Southdale Center, a mall in the Minneapolis suburbs, indicating that the brand is looking to lifestyle centers and growing malls as a key to its real-estate strategy.
- Puttshack and some baseball-focused eatertainment concepts have seen a fair amount of growth in 2024, though others have had a difficult year. Just within the last week, Topgolf’s parent company announced it would spin off the chain, while Pinstripes announced that it would initiate a round of corporate layoffs.
Dive Insight:
Puttshack’s location in Edina will have four, nine-hole minigolf courses, complete with the brand’s automatic scoring tech, two full-service bars, an events space and a large patio, according to the press release. The menu includes locally inspired flavors and dishes like a “Pierogi flatbread” and the “Minnesota Tailpipe, a chicken & wild rice soup-inspired spring roll served with a poblano cheese dipping sauce.”
While food figures into Puttshack’s strategy, alcohol and especially gaming are financially vital to the company. In January, the concept’s leadership said at the ICR conference that the margins on its minigolf games were about 95% and the game comprised 40% of revenue.
Puttshack is growing fairly rapidly; its website lists eight U.S. units due to open soon, which would represent a substantial increase in footprint. If those units sustain volumes that Puttshack has posted historically, $12 million on average, they would strengthen the brand significantly.
The opening comes as eatertainment concepts become strategically important for malls and lifestyle centers looking for tenants capable of drawing substantial foot traffic.
“Upscale, experiential brands like Puttshack are exactly the type of stand-out offering we’re committed to bringing to this community as we reach the apex of the progressive transformation of Southdale Center,” Judy Tullius, Southdale’s general manager, said in the press release.
