Sonoma’s mini-golf and arcade taken over by Solis family

The Maxwell Family Fun Center, the miniature golf course and arcade that’s been a fixture for fun in Sonoma since 1989, would typically open for the weekend on Thursday afternoon. But at the moment, the doors are open only for its new owners – the Solis family.

Lori Solis, who also owns Top That Yogurt on Broadway with her husband Eric, plans to breathe new life into the Fun Center.

As smartphones and gaming consoles replaced the lure of the center’s arcade, the retro games struggled to keep up with the times. Previously, the Maxwell Shopping Center owned and managed the Fun Center. Maxwell’s property manager, Tina Luther, said the miniature golf course has operated since the shopping center was built.

“We’re excited to see it put on a new face and we’re excited to see someone breathe energy into it,” she said.

According to Luther, the Fun Center was built as a way to give kids something to do.

“Every kid was complaining there was nothing to do. This was the ’80s – that was when arcades were in their heyday,” Luther said. “It gave kids and families a fun and safe environment.”

The Fun Center was built for the community, and kept open over the years, even through the Great Recession and changing times, so kids and families in Sonoma could have a fun place to go without going out of town.

However, in recent years, “it fell flat,” Luther said. “We were out of ideas to make it a more fun, robust place. The potential was there, and the last thing we wanted to do was close down the place.”

The mini golf course, now a relic of its own, pays homage to Sonoma’s famous landmarks. Hole three features a replica of the Mission, and hole 11 boasts a model of Sonoma’s City Hall.

“Some of the staff have seen generations come and go,” Luther said. After deciding to find a new owner to lease the property – perhaps someone who could lease the building housing the arcade and keep the mini golf course separate – she sent an e-mail to the Solis family.

Lori Solis said she was surprised when the property owners contacted them asking if they would want to take it over. After the couple gave it some thought, they decided it could be a good business, and took up the mantle.

“It was almost more serendipitous than anything else,” Luther said, as she only had to send one e-mail. “Typically, we’d have to make 100 phone calls to make it happen.”

Now, Lori Solis said they are pushing to reopen the Fun Center sometime over Christmas break. The Fun Center will be remodeled and get a new name, and Solis plans to sell more food options including lunch, dinner and, of course, frozen yogurt.

“We’re going to put a covered patio by the side door,” she said. “We’ll take some of the bigger games out, open up some space and put in a couple of our frozen yogurt machines.”

Solis said she looks forward to getting the Fun Center up and running again. When it does, it will be open seven days a week, as opposed to its prior Thursday through Sunday hours.

She said the fact that the Fun Center wasn’t open all week was a problem – families would come on days it wasn’t open hoping to play peewee golf. She plans to make it into a place kids and families can go anytime to have fun in town. “Sonoma needs it. Sonoma doesn’t have a place like that,” she said.

Solis said she foresees a lot of birthdays, weddings and other parties there. In the meantime, she’s still looking for employees, though she will also be bringing a couple of her Top That staff to the arcade.

For more information and to stay up-to-date with the Fun Center’s reopening, check their website at maxwellfuncenter.co.