The Third Street Promenade’s newest tenant has taken its shot at bringing entertainment to the shopping district, with early reactions sounding like the response to a hole-in-one on the golf course.
On December 6, Holey Moley opened its latest mini golf and bar establishment on the Promenade’s 1300 block, a chance to revitalize the space last occupied by the United Kitchen Mix ghost kitchen concept. At its opening, attended by city officials and Chamber of Commerce members, Holey Moley introduced its two 9-hole courses on the second and third floors, packing in the space with unique hole designs, including some made for Santa Monica.
An Australia-based company, Holey Moley’s sixth location now lies on the Promenade, joining spots in San Antonio, Denver, Houston, Austin and San Francisco. The latter two locations are where General Manager Adrian Perez took a crash course on marketing mini golf, a new chapter in the food and hospitality pro’s career.
Perez, born and raised in Southern California, has been a lifer in food and hospitality, becoming a ground-floor operations specialist with chains like Johnny Rockets and Five Guys, before moving into working with the likes of Disney (with the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood) and Universal Studios.
“Growing up, my grandparents cooked for us a lot, and everyone knows your grandparents make the best food, so I was just always intrigued, and always loved starting how to cook,” Perez said of his passion for the industry. “Then from there, [I] got my first job in hospitality and I loved it. The instant reward you get from seeing people having fun and enjoying a product, there is nothing else [like it].”
Brought into the Holey Moley organization knowing he would take over in Santa Monica, Perez called the Promenade “the perfect location” to implement the fun and excitement-based culture of the brand. The location has a hometown flavor from the golf holes themselves (including one based on the Pacific Park ferris wheel), to a SoCal-infused food and drink menu.
Packing a full-service bar, restaurant area, karaoke room, private event spaces and 18 holes in all into the Promenade space was “definitely challenging,” Perez noted, but was made with both entertainment and accessibility in mind. The GM stated that all floors being ADA compliant means that “anybody can come in and play,” as well as check out the patio space for views and relaxation.
“We’ve utilized the space really well and kind of made it that home feel, [but] also being in Santa Monica, you don’t feel like you’re stuck inside, [you] still get that outdoor feel,” Perez added. “The patio kind of allows some breeze and [that’s] beautiful too, you get that fog that ind of sits in the morning so it looks really nice.”
Aside from private events available for booking, Holey Moley will eventually be branching out into the public event arena with DJ nights, using multiple floors to the location’s advantage with different types of music playing on each floor. Perez added that he wants to “establish a local base” through eventual locals’ events as well as the spot’s every day happy hour from 2 to 5pm.
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. Board Member Leo Pustilnikov praised Holey Moley’s vision as reason for its early success on the Promenade, as the December 6 grand opening was flooded with gung-ho golfers right at the 12pm ceremony time.
“I think this will be, hopefully, well-received in the city and be here for a while, and be an anchor like Barnes and Noble across the street to bring people back to the Promenade,” Pustilnikov said. “This is the nicest I’ve seen the Promenade since pre-COVID, so I think I’m hopeful for what’s next.”
Perez said he’d already seen familiar faces from private events at the December 6 opening, another sign of hope for the mini-golf brand.
“For our first day of being open, everybody is laughing and smiling on their way out, and that’s what we’re looking for. That’s what we’re most pleased by, when people [are] safe and having fun … everybody that’s left has had just this sense of awe and amazement.”
Holey Moley is now open at 1315 Third Street Promenade, for hours and more information, visit holeymoley.com.
Thomas Leffler with additional reporting by Scott Snowden
