Monster Mini Golf makes its move to new location
Entertainment center adds ropes course and laser tag
Imagine navigating a ropes course complete with spinning log and agility ladder while people play miniature golf directly beneath you. Now add to the scene eerie music, black lights, fog and hundreds of haunted props.
Danbury Monster Mini Golf is much more than golf these days. Its new location opened Friday at 13 Stony Hill Road in Bethel and features mini golf, arcade games, ropes course and laser tag on two floors.
“There was no room for expansion (at the former location) and the business was successful,” Mark Barra, co-owner of Danbury Monster Mini Golf, said Friday. “We developed a good following in Danbury. The community took to us well.”
The business expanded from 10,000 to 18,000 square feet. The new location also has a basement, which Barra said offers the potential for further expansion and attractions.
The business had been at its original location on Starr Road in Danbury for six years. Barra and his wife, Carol Jemayel-Barra, also own the Monster Mini Golf in Orange. They are Newtown residents.
Monster Mini Golf is a franchise that started 12 years ago and has 32 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is based in Las Vegas.
The Barras purchased the building at 13 Stony Hill Road after Sportsplex Bethel closed in 2016. He said he will maintain the name Danbury Monster Mini Golf even though the building is just over the border in Bethel.
“When I saw the building, I knew I wanted it. It’s a great location,” he said. “We needed high ceilings, which is hard to come by. We were lucky to have the physical structure we needed and have it be right on a main road.”
The high ceilings accommodate the fanciful props on the mini golf course, the rope course and two-level laser tag. The expanded party rooms — for birthdays and corporate events — are also on the second floor.
The ropes course and laser tag are new to Danbury Monster Mini Golf. Barra started laser tag at the Orange location three years ago. It was the first Monster Mini Golf franchise to have laser tag. Barra is now the first franchisee to add a rope course.
“They like me because I test things out for them. I’m the rebel,” he said. “They are open to ideas. The franchise model is great. They do a fantastic job and are flexible.”
Sky Trail Discovery designed the ropes course.
“It’s kind of like a Ninja Warrior course. It’s a lot of fun,” Barra said. “I’ll think we’ll see as many adults as kids trying it.”
The laser tag room, not surprisingly, features a cemetery theme.
The golf course was redesigned by Monster Mini Golf personnel to accommodate the new space. The arcade has 32 games and a ticket redemption counter.
Barra said Danbury Monster Mini Golf, which employs about 25 people, closed for about two weeks to make the move.
“It went smoother than expected,” he said. “Logistically it was tricky because it had to be done in a certain order.”
To reach Danbury Monster Mini Golf, call 203-7444653.