Don\u2019t worry Longview.<\/p>\n
The animal statues that are part of the scenery at the former Putt-Putt Golf and Games in Longview are safe in the hands of their new owners.<\/p>\n
Marshall residents Robert Parkison and Jerad Perry have purchased the former Putt-Putt, which they plan to call Tapshot when it reopens next year. While they\u2019re planning big changes at the more than 40-year-old business, the signature zoo animal statues will remain part of the miniature golf course.<\/p>\n
Parkison owns Texas Truck Outfitters in Marshall, and Perry owns Perry\u2019s Hometown Flooring in Marshall. Parkison and his wife, Angelina, have two adult sons; Perry and his wife, Rachelle, have two sons ages 9 and 12.<\/p>\n
The two men said they\u2019ve tackled lots of construction projects before, but this will be the first time they\u2019ve taken on this kind of project.<\/p>\n
And while they\u2019re Marshall residents, they\u2019ve loved Putt-Putt over the years as much as people in Longview have. The Barnhart family started Putt-Putt in Longview in 1981.<\/p>\n
Parkison and Perry said they would come to Longview to play miniature golf when they were younger or on dates and, now, with their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in the last few years, we saw it kind of fading and going downhill,\u201d Perry said, and an idea began to emerge.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould we bring this place back?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
The Perry family was at the entertainment center right before it went on the market. Soon after, the two families were together, talking about \u201chow cool it would be to buy and renovate\u201d the miniature golf business, Parkison said.<\/p>\n
The next day, they saw a Facebook notice that the property was up for sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so coincidental,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n
They plan to \u201cliven up\u201d the outdoor golf course, including a redesign of the course layout. They say keeping the animal statues is something the public has let them know is important to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have already pulled out the bumpers, and we\u2019re going to use the existing concrete and then redesign the layout so that it looks new, but it\u2019s utilizing the original format,\u201d Parkison said, but they\u2019re considering new themes on the course.<\/p>\n
Tapshot will not have an arcade. Instead the room where the arcade was will offer ax throwing, and the former party room will feature a shooting simulator with a 12-foot screen with different games for adults versus children. The parking lot and drainage will be addressed as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have pizza \u2026 and then we\u2019ll have both beer and fountain drinks and water,\u201d Parkison said.<\/p>\n
Other changes are in the works as well.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re going through with the permitting process with the city of Longview to begin work on the property. Parkison said they\u2019re aiming to be open by the first of spring.<\/p>\n
Chinese food coming to Spring Hill area<\/p>\n
Tango Mango, a Chinese food restaurant with longtime East Texas ties, is preparing a new location in the former Dairy Queen in Longview\u2019s Spring Hill area.<\/p>\n
Owners Ricky, Aaron and Eric Tang also recently opened a Tango Mango in Tyler, but their family\u2019s restaurant roots started in Nacogdoches. Ricky Tang\u2019s parents operated Peking Chinese food restaurant in that town for many years. They have retired, and he now operates that restaurant.<\/p>\n
Aaron and Eric, Ricky\u2019s cousins, are brothers. The trio also recently opened a Tango Mango on South Broadway in Tyler, and each of them have separate restaurant ventures.<\/p>\n
Ricky explained that the menu includes some of the favorites from Peking \u2013 egg rolls and potstickers for instance, along with 12 kinds of rice bowls, including shrimp and chicken fried rice.<\/p>\n
The menu also features authentic Taiwanese shaved ice \u2013 the \u201ctreats\u201d side of the restaurant.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a shaved ice with condensed milk, and then we put fresh fruit on top, a scoop of ice cream (with options for additional toppings) and more condensed milk,\u201d Ricky said.<\/p>\n
The restaurant is also known for its smoothies and teas, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur most famous drinks are the flavored black tea, flavored green tea, or flavored lemonade,\u201d he said. They also serve Taiwanese milk tea with boba \u2013 with the popping pearls filled with fruit juice.<\/p>\n
Pet wash targeted for trail<\/p>\n
The Longview City Council has approved an agreement with Longview residents Ashly and Keith Lloyd to place a self-service dog wash station at the Boorman Trail head closest to the Stragent Dog Park at Summers Drive and Loop 281.<\/p>\n
The agreement calls for the Lloyds to be responsible for all construction costs of the \u201cBubbles \u2018n Bark\u201d project. The Lloyds would pay the city $2,400 per year during the initial five-year agreement. They also would donate 25 cents per wash to the Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Business Beat appears Wednesday. If you have items for the column, email to newsroom@newsjournal.com; mail to Business Section, Longview News-Journal, P.O. box 1792, Longview, TX 75606; or call (903) 237-7744.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t worry Longview. The animal statues that are part of the scenery at the former Putt-Putt Golf and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-234384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}