By Delane Cleveland, CCX Media
After four and a half months, Brooklyn Center’s massive Topgolf complex opened its doors Monday for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic reached Minnesota in March.
“Everything’s up, everything’s open, everything’s running, and so we’re in good standings across the board,” said Stephen Rubenstein, director of operations at the Brooklyn Center location.
Minneapolis resident David Campbell was one of the first people through the doors Monday morning.
“Right now I have about two hours to work on my golf game, so that’s probably going to be my weekly regimen from now on,” Campbell said.
TOPGOLF: RESERVATIONS ON FIRST DAY REOPENED “BOOKED SOLID”
Customers like Campbell says he’s surprised the big reopening took so long.
Topgolf in Brooklyn Center opened Monday for first time since March 17.
“I thought they would have opened up when bars and restaurants would have been opened up, for those reasons, but just happy that they’re open now,” he said.
The delay, according to management, was to ensure they had the proper safety protocols in place.
Any visitors to Topgolf will notice a number of differences to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Common areas are closed off, plastic safety barriers are everywhere, and eating and drinking are relegated to the bays.
“Not only are we doing that, but every bay is going to be disinfected,” Rubenstein said. “Everything from the clubs, the golf balls, the screens, the couches, and then the menu.”
Rubenstein says it’s part of the new normal that will be in place at the venue for the foreseeable future.
“We want all of our guests to feel very confident, we want them to feel safe,” he said. “Because guess what? We want them to have fun and we want to make a difference in people’s lives.”
The hope is that the enhanced safety protocols will protect people from the novel coronavirus. Whether those safety measures will help people with their golf game is another question.
“I’m not trying to be good,” Campbell said. “I’m just trying to be non-embarrassing.”
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