Jordan Beck | Daily Press UPutt Family Fun Center co-owners Don Martin, right, and Vickie Martin stop for a photo at their center’s miniature golf course. So far, Don said business at the center — which had a soft opening on May 15 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 7 — has been “phenomenal.”

Editor’s note: The Daily Press features a profile of an area business each week. This week’s featured business is UPutt Family Fun Center of Escanaba.

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By Jordan Beck

jbeck@dailypress.net

ESCANABA — A recently-opened indoor recreation center featuring miniature golf, arcade games and more has already been showing signs of success. Don and Vickie Martin, co-owners of UPutt Family Fun Center, said they do not plan to stop making improvements to their business any time soon.

Don said the inspiration for UPutt came while he was spending time with his granddaughter.

“UPutt got started on a kayak on Indian Lake,” he said.

Don’s granddaughter said there was not much for young people to do in the area. Shortly after this conversation, Don brought his idea to establish a family fun center up with Vickie.

According to Vickie, the fact that the center is indoors means it will be an ideal fit for Delta County’s long winters.

“We wanted to get everybody moving, especially in the wintertime,” she said.

Don said another reason he and Vickie established UPutt was to create local jobs. Currently, the center employs 11 people from the area, ranging from high schoolers to people who have reached retirement age.

The building that now houses UPutt was purchased this January. Work on design, construction and procurement for the center began in earnest in March.

Vickie said her husband put a great deal of work into designing the center’s mini golf course, along with other aspects of UPutt.

“Don probably put in 20 hours a day for months researching,” she said.

UPutt had a soft opening on May 15 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 7. So far, Don said business at the center has been “phenomenal.”

“I’ve opened a lot of businesses over the years — I’ve never seen one take off like this,” he said.

Over 2,000 rounds of mini golf have been played at UPutt since it opened. The center’s mini golf course is themed to the four seasons of the U.P., with different areas representing summer, fall, winter and spring.

Along with the mini golf course, Don said the center’s arcade, snack bar and private birthday party rooms have been popular. The rooms can hold 12 people and can be rented for two hours.

A high priority for UPutt is giving back to the community, Don said. The center donates a percentage of its proceeds from mini golf to a featured non-profit each month, a free lending library is available near the snack bar, free meeting rooms are available for non-profit organizations during weekdays and the mini golf course has handicapped gates for each hole.

Though the center opened just a few months ago, Don said he and Vickie have already begun to think about the future of their business.

“I don’t go into anything without already having (an) expansion plan,” he said.

The Martins currently have a two-year plan for UPutt’s future. Don said they made sure their building could be expanded during the development process.

“Our goal in two years … is to expand between 2,500 and 3,500 square feet,” he said.

No decisions have been made on what the additional space will be used for. Options Don said are under consideration include indoor batting cages, a virtual reality room, laser tag and an expanded arcade.

The final version of UPutt’s expansion plan will be based on feedback from the public.

“If you’re building a business for the community, you have to listen to the community,” Don said.

To learn more about UPutt, visit uputtfamilyfuncenter.com.