By Kevin Collison

The founder of Blade & Timber has aimed his axe at the space next door in the Power & Light District and plans to open Sinker’s Lounge, a new mini-golf meets cocktail lounge concept, this summer.

Matt Baysinger said his new Sinkers Lounge is a continuation of the entertainment formula that’s made Blade & Timber popular, except it substitutes a putter for a blade.

“Our whole purpose is to get people together for a share experience and help them have fun,” he said.

“As we’ve matured as a company, there’s no shortage of entertainment options around the world. Mini-golf has been right under our nose for a long time.”

The new Sinkers bar and restaurant is expected to open this summer at 53 W. 13th St. It will be next to the Blade & Timber, which relocated from its original location in the West Bottoms late last summer.

“Our new location has been fantastic,” Baysinger said about Blade. “Our sales are up 50 percent vs the West Bottoms.”

Baysinger has bigger ambitions though, and Sinkers Lounge is part of them.

He’s started an umbrella firm called Swell Spark to come up with new entertainment ideas like Sinkers, Blade & Timber and the Escape Room. The goal is to eventually spread them around the country.

“We’ve committed to launching our new entertainment concepts in this city before expanding to other cities,” Baysinger said in a statement.

“Kansas City is our home turf, we truly believe the community supports its own, allowing us to build and grow our ideas.”

The new Sinkers will offer nine holes of mini-golf along with nine “tabletop golf” holes. The tabletop holes are similar to shuffle board table and use a club that resembles a pool cue with a putter head attached.

“We’ve taken mini-golf and put our flair to it,” Baysinger said. “When folks think about mini-golf, they think about it as a child’s game.

“We’re taking a retro country club approach, a place where adults can come together and have a special time. It will have an elevated aesthetic, a throwback to to the Seventies and Eighties.”

Couples and groups will have the option to reserve a tee time online or walk-in for the full-service Sinkers experience, according to a release.

Sinkers Lounge will be the second golf-oriented entertainment venue to open in downtown. Last year, The Clubhouse Experience, opened in the sunken plaza level of the WallStreet condominium building at 11th and Walnut.

(Editor’s note: Beginning in December 2019, CityScene KC has become a paid subscription publication)

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