Consumers are ready to be social again, and experiential concepts are lining up to serve the demand. “We’re getting a lot more calls, and they are being more aggressive lately,” said Vestar vice president of leasing Taylor Alvey.

According to Mark Hunter, “There are a number of upscale bowling concepts, comedy clubs, and the sports/entertainment category, such as putt-putt golfing.” He’s managing director of a new team that helps owners of A, B and C malls and other large-format properties re-create their tenant mixes and add uses like multifamily, hospitality and experiential. “Plus, you have the whole technology-meets-entertainment with the virtual reality and e-gaming segment.”

Just what does experiential retailing bring to property owners? “It creates that additional opportunity for people to visit and is going to create that emotional attachment with the community,” said Tim Geiges, senior general manager of the Chicago area’s Oakbrook Center. At his center, a Sistine Chapel exhibit popped up in June for a three-month run. “The impact it has had on our community and on our traffic has been unbelievable,” said Geiges.

And shopping centers have just the space for such tenants. Ken Labarre — regional vice president of development at Brookfield Properties, which owns Oakbrook Center among many others — said, “Whether it is by accident or just maybe a little luck, we do have those large-block spaces available, so it has been a good marriage.”

Esports and other games

Building on the rising popularity of virtual gaming, Vindex plans to open more than 500 Belong Gaming arenas in the U.S. and a further 1,000 locations globally over the next five years. Several other gameplay concepts have appeared in the U.S. market in recent weeks and are planning to expand.

On June 14, Level99 opened its first entertainment concept inside a former Sears in Brookfield’s Natick Mall, west of Boston. The 48,600-square-foot venue offers challenges for a capacity 450 players at a time. It also has a 92-seat Night Shift Brewing Taproom with a scratch kitchen and a 140-seat Night Shift Brewing Beer Hall. Creator DuPlessie, who largely is credited with founding the original escape room concept in 2004, is targeting the 21- to 39-year-old segment, which will be drawn to the upscale food-and-beverage, he says. Backing Level99 is Panera founder Ron Shaich’s Act III Holdings investment fund.

DuPlessie views Level99 as a data company. “We’re trying to figure out and really define what fun is,” he said. “Why is one type of physical challenge something you just want to keep doing over and over again?  We have 43 separate challenge rooms in this space, and there is a lot of data mining that can go on to figure out what is really working and what isn’t working.”

Plans are underway to find a second location, ideally in 30,000 to 45,000 square feet, and the opportunities are plentiful. “Now is a good time to be a tenant with an exciting concept that is attracting a lot of energy and a lot of footsteps,” said DuPlessie. “When Level99 was little more than a fancy PowerPoint presentation, Brookfield saw the potential and invested in the concept with us. So we view them as a partner here in Natick, and as we continue to expand, we know other landlords will also be interested in participating with us in a partnership-type arrangement.”

Golf concepts

Miniature golfing has found a home in many centers. Popstroke will open this year at Orlando’s Waterford Lakes Town Center. Tiger Woods, who co-owns the concept with Greg Bartoli, and Woods’ TGR Design have designed the pair of 18-hole courses that are under construction there. Popstroke also will feature a restaurant and bar with food, soft drinks, cocktails, wine, craft beer and ice cream. Visitors also can use the Popstroke app to order delivery to the courses. An outdoor beer garden offers games like pingpong and cornhole, along with a dedicated events space.

And Puttshack has three locations in London and opened its first U.S. venue in April, in Atlanta. It will open in Miami’s Brickell City Centre and Chicago’s Oakbrook Center this year and in Nashville’s former Gibson guitar factory in 2023.

Smaller spaces can work, too

At Hawaii’s Ka Makana Ali’i, a first-of-its-kind Razor Drifting concept opened in 3,000 square feet in March. The indoor electric carts drift around corners and glide, similar to driving in the snow. There is a full-size track for kids and adults, a Shift track for younger kids and a high-speed track for adults with greater skill. “Razor Drifting is an experience that is unlike anything we currently have,” said Ka Makana Ali’i general manager Stephanie England.

With so many concepts in the market vying for attention, landlords should choose wisely. “We want to see it,” said Alvey. “We want to experience it. We want to make sure it is a good fit, and we will spend a lot of time on the concept side. Then, since a lot of them are startups, we want to make sure that we know who is behind it, what their operating experience is and obviously if they have the financial wherewithal.”

As consumers free themselves from home isolation, it’s the perfect time for experiential concepts to shine. “In almost every single category, retail sales are doing better than in 2019, which was a stellar year,” said Hunter. “So there is an analogy that 2021 is being sort of like the Roaring Twenties.”