One of Barrie’s popular locations for family outings is closing this month and the owner says she's as dismayed about the situation as her customers are.
Sarah Brown has owned Putt Mini Golf, located on Commerce Park Drive in the city's south end, for almost 10 years.
“It's the only one (of its kind) in the city," she said. "It's very sad to me to see it go, but I know I’ve heard from many others how upset they are that it's closing."
Brown also owned two In Play locations, one in Barrie on Bryne Drive and another in Newmarket.
“I lost both of those to COVID. I also have a ladies gym that I subsidize with what I get from Putt Mini. That will have to close now, too, likely because of the golf shutting down," she said.
A message posted Monday on the Putt Mini Facebook page said although the business had made it through the COVID-19 pandemic, they were “reno-victed" from their Barrie location.
“Someone else came looking to expand their business,” said Brown, who added her lease was all paid up. "They found a clause in the lease to do a reno-viction on me.”
Several attempts were made to reach the landlord, but no messages were returned.
Brown said she was told she had a 50/50 chance of winning a legal battle, but if she did lose, she’d have to pay the court costs.
“Right now, it’s just really sad because this was so popular with families,” she said. “The messages I’ve received have been so heartwarming. A mom who lost her son to cancer in 2014 and this was the place they enjoyed together, to a woman who came on a first date with her now husband. It's just very sad.”
March 29 will be the last day for the south-end mini-putt and it appears there's no chance of relocating.
“It's all made of concrete inside; it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to move. Unfortunately, it is over and I don’t even know what I’ll do for income," Brown said.
