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Mini golf, restaurant and a bar: Inside the massive family entertainment center in East Peoria

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Mini golf, restaurant and a bar: Inside the massive family entertainment center in East Peoria

EAST PEORIA — Asked why The Putt Club will succeed, co-owner Jason Payne gestured outside the new entertainment center’s restaurant and toward the view of the Illinois River and Interstate 74 in East Peoria.

“It’s about visibility and view,” he said. “They’re the two ‘V’ words. We’re visible from I-74, where roughly 60,000 cars a day will pass by. Those people will see our moniker and logos on the sides of our building. Then we have a great view of the river, the Murray Baker Bridge, and the downtown Peoria skyline.”

Putt Club: Entertainment center in East Peoria eyes early summer opening

The 18,000 square-foot East Peoria family entertainment complex features an indoor-outdoor miniature golf experience that appears more focused on presenting a challenge than a carnival. In place of the more traditional windmills or clown faces, rock formations mark the out-of-bounds areas on the outdoor course while slope variations and surprisingly lengthy holes add to the degree of difficulty. Payne said the indoor course will open this week, while the outdoor course opened last weekend.

“For a putt-putt course to be that long and to have holes that are Par 3s or 4s is unbelievable,” said Nathan Chasteen of West Peoria. “The inclines and declines and the changes in elevation made the course really fun.”

The miniature golf courses are the center of the operation, and Payne said early returns show them to be the facility’s most popular attraction. Putt Club also offers gathering places, an arcade and a full-service restaurant.

“It’s a unique entertainment experience that we really don’t have in this area,” Payne said. “There are some big cities that have similar types of products, but this is something we wanted to bring to central Illinois.”

Chasteen capped his round of mini golf with some of the restaurant’s ultra-thin crust pizza and a goat cheese appetizer, describing both as “phenomenal.” In addition to the pizza, Payne recommended the shareable Hole-in-One Nachos that look like something out of a Food Network show. “They’re the size of a small vehicle,” he chuckled.

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Natalie Willdrick of East Peoria decided to stop in for lunch at The Putt Club restaurant before attacking the outdoor course with her husband, Russell. They both had high hopes for the steak quesadillas they ordered, and Willdrick said she is excited to have an entertainment center like this come to the greater Peoria area.

“This looks like a great place,” she said. “It’s something that’s definitely needed around here.”

Connect with The Putt Club

  • Address: 1001 Bass Pro Dr., East Peoria, near the Bass Pro Shops
  • Phone: (309) 916-7888
  • Website: theputtclub.com
  • Hours: 3-10 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
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