Funlab opens first Holey Moley outlets in the USA

Melbourne-based Funlab has opened Holey Moley 'leisure-tainment' destination in the USA - in Denver, Colorado - with other locations in San Francisco, California and Houston and Austin in Texas.

Part of a USA-wide rollout of venues aided by commercial real estate and investment management brokerage JLL, which helped find these initial four locations, Funlab’s expansion is backed by private equity firm the Texas Pacific Group.

Having been operating and expanding its brands in Australia for over 20 years, the entry into the USA market follows significant research on how Funlab’s brands - including Holey Moley, Strike and La-Di-Darts - will be introduced or adopted stateside.

Introducing Holey Moley to the USA, JLL advised that it “takes the familiar and beloved mini-golf concept and transforms it.

“The spaces are an immersive world of fun with delicious bites, specialty cocktails and real-life connections. The concepts will feature super-vibey, multi-sensory experiences and new, iconic pop-culture themes woven into the golf holes.”

Introducing the Holey Moley concept to USA-based publication Commercial Observer, Blaise Witnish, Funlabs’s acting Chief Executive for the USA, advised “we give more space to the food and beverage areas and private function spaces. Our food and beverage menu is tailored for each local market. We select our holes for the market, and we have designed each site so every Holey Moley is never the same.

“We also design and build at least three to four holes specifically for that venue. We design the interior for each location using inspiration from the area, the community and the building.

“We obviously did a huge amount of research both on how to make it in the States, and how relevant our major brands could be, and how they’d be taken or adopted.

"There was an unbelievable positive side. When you look at the Australian consumer and the American consumer, there’s a lot of differences, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a hell of a lot of similarities. And, so, there’s this real pent-up love for two things: entertainment, a unique guest experience, coupled with a post-pandemic world and this real love for competitive socialising.

“That phrase - competitive socialising - you hear that a lot. Competitive socialising is on a massive trajectory that people are just loving.

"Going out, socialising with friends, family, workmates, date nights, having a few drinks, and then playing a game where you’re competing and trying to get a higher score. But you’re doing it in a really fun, and usually a pretty immersive atmosphere.

“You’re creating environments where people are coming back, but they’re not coming back with the same group. You might go there for a work event. But then you’ll be there and go, ‘“Oh my god, this is so perfect for my friend’s upcoming birthday party, I’m going to book it; we’ll all come here for the birthday’.

“And, then, at the birthday, somebody will be there saying, ‘Oh my god, this is perfect for, you know, the upcoming date night’ … and so it rolls.”

With an initial focus on the southern and south western states, Witnish expects that the group will rolling out up to around 10 locations a year, noting “we are aggressively in negotiation with three or four new properties at the moment.

“We’re trying to build a 10-location pipeline.”

Witnish also explained the uniqueness of their 'leisure-tainment' offering, adding “you can’t stream a social entertainment venue, and the experiences you have within that.

And, as consumers, as humans, in our top three hierarchy of needs, is the sense of belonging, and belonging is about being a part of tribes.”

Image: Holey Moley in Denver, USA (top and below) and Blaise Witnish (middle). Credit: Eugene Hyland/Funlab.