An experiential retailer is combining Monterey County's reputation as a world-class golfing destination with its budding beer scene to help revitalize a vacant brewery and aid in the region's recovery from the pandemic era.
Tipsy Putt, which bills itself as a local craft beer and miniature golf experience, signed a lease to take over the former Cannery Row Brewing Co. in the heart of downtown Monterey, California. The nearly 18,850-square-foot deal will backfill space that has been sitting empty for roughly four years, earning it a 2023 Costar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Featuring a miniature golf course, restaurant, patio and multiple party spaces, the latest addition to the Tipsy Putt portfolio is just a piece of the experiential retailer's expansion plans, which also includes future locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tipsy Putt is on track to make its Monterey debut later this year after completing a $1.2 million renovation. Once open, the venue is expected to fill an experiential void in the coastal city that has long been dominated by the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium.
“There’s an open space of what we can do," Tipsy Putt Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Robinson recently said of the operator's next location. "Families can go to the aquarium and walk up and down the street, but there’s not a lot of additional activities. This is one more thing and an opportunity to do something interactive. I think it will really liven up the Cannery Row experience.”
About the project: The downtown Monterey venue at 95 Prescott Ave. was previously home to Cannery Row Brewing Co., which permanently closed its doors in 2019. With its location a few blocks from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the site is popular among both tourists and locals and is surrounded by a mix of high-profile restaurants, hotels and shops in the dense retail hub.
What the judges said: "It serves the community better," Beau Oxsen, a broker with Shaw Development, said of Tipsy Putt compared to the property's former brewery tenant.
They made it happen: William Grimm, chief operating officer for Cannery Row Brewing Co., spearheaded the deal with Tipsy Putt.