The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cleveland ‘eatertainment’ complex Punch Bowl Social offers a new indoor option with its Putt Club Putt-er a-round in winter
Ugh, it’s miserable outside. Is that snow? Rain? FREEZING RAIN? ¶ Blech. ¶ What does everyone want to do? Go for coffee? Take in a movie? • How about miniature golf? Wait, MINIATURE GOLF? NOW?!? ¶ Yes, that is a new a wintertime option in Northeast Ohio thanks to the just-opened nine-hole Putt Club at Punch Bowl Social, a popular “eatertainment” venue on the East Bank of Cleveland’s Flats.
Punch Bowl Social is the brainchild of Robert Thompson, founder and CEO of the Denver-based chain that has seen rapid growth since the first location opened six years ago in that Colorado city, which now boasts two. Cleveland’s was the fifth to open, three years ago, and now there are 14 total.
“We’ve had a lot of success, and there’s been a lot of demand,” says Thompson, in Cleveland on this mid-November afternoon as the final touches were being put on Putt Club prior to its public opening the following day.
While the multilevel Cleveland spot already offered entertainment including bowling, table tennis, two karaoke rooms, marbles, darts, a 1980s-style arcade, shuffleboard and foosball on a long, beautiful table imported from Italy, Thompson says that’s not where the emphasis is.
“We’re the only brand that really focuses on scratch kitchen and craft beverage in the eatertainment category, so it’s been well-received,” Thompson says.
“We sort of think we’re the only one who focuses on the ‘eat’ in eatertainment — everybody else is kind of servicing it,” he adds later in the conversation, as an Old Fashioned — from the Old School section of a cocktail menu that also offers New School and Punch selections, as well as Adult Milkshakes — is enjoyed by his guest. “All of our competitors do 50 percent gaming and 50 percent food and beverage; we’re 89 percent food and beverage.
Some of the food options that jump out at you on the substantial menu include appetizers such as the Sriracha Peanut Fries and Lobster Bacon Fries, breakfast items (served till 3 p.m.) including Monkey Bread French Toast and Ricotta Cheese Pancakes and fried-chicken-dinner choice A Colonel of Truth.
As for Putt Club, it’s not just new — it’s new-new.
“This location, Cleveland, is the first to get Putt Club. We don’t have putting at any location, and we really had a hell of a fun time developing this ‘Nordic Woodland’ theme around our Putt Club.”
The 1,800-square-foot Putt Club sits where dining tables used to, the diner section being moved into a nearby area.
“The challenge was to do it in such a compact space,” Thompson says, adding that Punch Bowl Social’s designers worked with COST of Wisconsin Inc. to create the course. “They customized all of this for us. None of this is offthe-shelf.
“Their ability to do this in such a compact area was the final catalyst to go, ‘OK, we can pull this off.’”
Other deciding factors were a trip London that Thompson took to check out indoor putting.
“Secondly, we did a little bit of consumer research on it, and it sort of popped off the charts,” he says. “People said, ‘Yes, please do this.’”
As he spoke, a few holes were playable, while others were seeing work.
“Ideally, this thing probably would have opened Jan. 1, but we rushed it to get it open for holiday bookings,” he says.
The course features holes that are two- and threepar — Thompson says the course can be made to be more difficult if customer feedback suggests that’s something that should be done — with stands for food and drink placed at each hole.
“It’s not an accident that Hole No. 1 and Hole No. 9 are right next to the bar,” Thompson says, “so you’ll start and finish there.”
Other new touches around the course include a photo area designed for selfies and Instagram shots, featuring laser-cut Tord Boontje paper draperies lining the wall of the nook; artwork in the nearby restroom by Northeast Ohio artist Charley Frances based on Scandinavian folklore; and Norse metal detailing that includes door knockers custom fabricated by Cleveland Blacksmithing.
You can imagine it being a crowded area on weekend evenings.
“It’s four people to a group at a time, so we’re not going to let 15 people take over a single hole,” he says. “That wouldn’t be fun.”
(The first rule on the back of the score card you’re given: “Be cool. When you’re considerate of others, the fun factor goes up for everyone.”)
While big groups can book the space for events, basic reservations are not accepted. A round of mini golf costs $9.
“You go to London, and it’s $18 for nine holes — and the experience isn’t anything better than what you see right here,” says Thompson, who declined to say how much Cleveland’s Putt Club cost to create.
While the space occupied by Putt Club appears as if it could be adapted for different purposes every few years, Thompson says that’s not the idea.
“We really don’t make a move like this unless we think it’s going to be something that’s long-lasting,” he says.
Other Punch Bowl Socials have various other attractions, such as virtualreality parlors in a handful of locations. So, will Cleveland serve as a test case for indoor putting?
“Logically, that seems like a reasonable thing to do, but I have such a confidence that it’s going to work, we’re already designing it into other locations,” Thompson says.
He sounds especially confident it will be a hit in the Flats.
“It’s just so (expletive) cold here in the winter that you guys need more stuff to do that’s interesting, right?”
OK, but what about the warmer months? (You know, we DO have those.)
“Well,” he says, “if (guests) don’t want to putt, we’ve got a rooftop deck upstairs, so they can go drink up there.”
“We did a little bit of consumer research on it, and it sort of popped off the charts. … People said, ‘Yes, please do this.’” — Robert Thompson, founder and CEO of Punch Bowl Social, on the new Putt Club at the Cleveland location