Sinkers drops early as mini-golf kit for quarantined families; lounge concept still planned for P&L

Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop.

[divide]

Construction on Sinkers Lounge might have been delayed, but that’s not stopping Swell Spark from introducing its latest branded experience to quarantined Kansas Citians. 

Matt Baysinger, Swell Spark, Sinkers, Blade & Timber, Breakout KC

“Obviously we are in strange times,” Baysinger, Swell Spark CEO, said of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic — which has upended the experience company’s ability to bring people together at its Blade and Timber, Choir Bar, and Breakout KC locations. 

On track to debut this summer, the health crisis has also slowed progress on the Power and Light District buildout of Sinkers — an indoor, nine hole mini golf course and upscale bar and restaurant. 

“I am not the type to want to just sit and FaceTime with my friends for an hour to catch up,” he explained, noting an abundance of time spent at home got him thinking of ways to create a new experience. 

Enter Sinkers At Home — a 64-piece, 36 hole, in-home version of the Sinkers experience. 

“I think there are a lot of people who look to us as leaders in the out-of-home entertainment industry here in Kansas City and so it’s a relatively straight forward pivot to show that we can also be a great in-home entertainment company,” he said. 

Now available online, a $120 Sinkers At Home kit allows players to experience mini-golf with their family or roommates or virtually with friends and loved ones over video chat who’ve also purchased a kit. 

Click here to order your own Sinkers At Home kit, which is expected to include a new, online course map every week for the duration of the nation’s Stay At Home orders. 

“Because of the way that we’ve created the kit, you can make literally hundreds of different mini golf course designs. …I think from a community development standpoint, our Sinkers concept has the greatest capacity to really get people involved in their homes,” he said, referencing past in-home concepts under the Breakout KC brand and the possibility for more in the future. 

Sinkers At Home

The pivot also serves as an informal introduction of the brand, allowing consumers to experience it before its launch, which could encourage them to visit Sinkers Lounge when it opens and Stay At Home orders are lifted, Baysinger noted. 

“I love my friends, I love my family, but it’s really hard for me to just sit and look and not do anything,” he said. “We realized that if we processed it out a little bit and made it so that it was easy to compete against your friends and family at their houses, using the same kit, using the same design, it was really a home run.”

With Swell Spark’s operations largely on pause, the at-home kits have also provided a way to keep the company’s team working through the pandemic, Baysigner said. 

“We have this whole manufacturing facility in Kansas City [Catalyst Build] and those are some of the jobs that we have really struggled with keeping online,” he said. “This does a tremendous job of helping us keep our team going. We’ve been so grateful for the support of Kansas City and the folks who have reached out and they’re like, ‘Man, we’re going to come hang out with you guys as soon as you open back up [at Blade & Timber and Breakout KC].’”

Baysinger and Swell Spark have also partnered with J. Rieger to facilitate the distillery’s hand sanitizer distribution, giving the company a chance to experience Kansas City’s give back spirit, he added.

Click here to read more about the hand sanitizer effort through Blade & Timber.

“I hope that this is also an opportunity for people to see that we’re not slowing down on providing entertainment,” Baysinger said. “We are working actively on everything that we can do in order to get people to enjoy their time in their homes.”