Moananui Haretuku and his 8-year-old son built and designed all of Par 3’s “over the top” putt-putt holes.
His son’s favorite? The Pacman hole features the iconic video game character evading the Ghost Gang of Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The player must put the ball through a top-down maze reminiscent of the game’s opening level. Other hole themes include billiards, the Cincinnati Bengals and Super Mario Brothers.
Haretuku wanted the holes and challenges at Par 3 to stand out from other putt-putt establishments you may see at a mall.
“Everything is on purpose over the top,” he told LINK nky. “We always wanted people to be like, ‘oh my gosh. I did not expect this.’”
In total, Par 3 features three nine-hole putt-putt courses, as well as a bar, restaurant, gaming area and event space. Its menu boasts a variety of classics like burgers, tacos, salads, flatbreads and cocktails.
Par 3 opened on Aug. 24 in the former Barnes & Noble space at Newport on the Levee. The 17,000-square-foot space offers direct views of the Ohio River and downtown Cincinnati.
Prior to Par 3, Haretuku worked as a founder and investor within the “competitive socializing” industry. Essentially, these are businesses that combine social interaction with competitive games and activities: think trampoline parks, axe-throwing, fowling and escape rooms. Haretuku said competitive socializing is especially popular in the United Kingdom and is gaining popularity in the United States.
“Competitive socializing around bars is really big in the U.K.,” Haretuku said. “They’re adding an activity around a bar to keep people around longer, to buy more drinks, to have more fun, instead of just drinking. That’s where competitive socializing got more popular.”
For help, Haretuku sought expertise abroad, hiring Greenspan Ltd, an English company, to provide consulting services for the project.
“I worked very closely with Mo and our successful collaboration helped drive the project forward to open on time and budget,” Ryan Palmer said on Greenspan’s website. “Throughout the fit out, Mo’s family came to see the progress and it was fantastic to see the happiness on their faces. I cannot wait to return to see how the venue is doing and hope we get to work with Par 3 again on many more venues.”
If all goes well, Haretuku wants to expand Par 3, opening over a dozen locations in other cities nationwide. In the short term, he wants to focus on giving patrons a memorable and unique experience.
“I love the look of anybody that walks up our stairs or comes out of our elevator for the first time and looks around – the look on their face is priceless,” he said. “That’s what we were hoping for, and then we’ve been getting that ever since we’ve been open.”
