(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Something you might hear while living in St. Joe is that there’s nothing fun to do here for entertainment.
Well some local businesses are trying to change that.
“It’s really great news for St. Joe. It gives our residents, our families more things to do. And so anytime that a business invests into growing, that is just it’s better for our economy,” St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce director of communications and marketing said.
Two local businesses–The Axe Factor and Joe Town Mini Golf–are adding more attractions for residents to explore. The Axe Factor has already offered axe-throwing, now it’s offering glow in the dark mini golf inside their Illuminate Entertainment Center.
“So the miniature golf was an idea we had even before the axe throwing, and as the axe throwing came together first, we were able to finally make this happen as well. So it’s something has always been in the back of our minds,” The Axe Factor co-owner Bruce Baker said.
And Joe Town Mini Golf is expanding with a new indoor and outdoor facility that will be called Ricky Dean’s. It will have batting cages, rock climbing, virtual reality rides and several more attractions.
“We finally got all of our ideas on paper, and the plans drawn up submitted to the city, and just getting approval now to get started on the project. So it’s been two years in the planning stages,” Joe Town Mini Golf co-owners Joe Lane and Rick Gilmore said.
Joe Town Mini Golf says it’s already had success with the Joe Town Speedway and more recently they bought Cool Crest, which is another mini golf attraction. The owners say they feel St. Joe is trying to revitalize itself.
“We really love St. Joe, we feel like St. Joe is really being in a revival state. And we feel like there’s a lot of good things going to come in the future where everything is trying to improve,” Lane and Gilmore said.
Bailey says with these new entertainment options growing in St. Joe, it shouldn’t be hard to find some family fun.
“This really is exciting for people with with younger families like we, we had heard, like we have to search for things to do. And so now they’re not going to have to search as much,” Bailey said.
The Axe Factor has already opened up the glow in the dark mini golf and the Joe Town owners say they hope to open Ricky Dean’s in December.
