Home Sweet Houghton

The Mine Shaft under renovation

If the traffic on this blog is any indication there’s a huge amount of interest around the Keweenaw in the report in June of the planned reopening of the Mine Shaft entertainment complex in Houghton by the end of the summer.  Now it looks like it may only be a matter of days before the arcade comes back to life in all its noisy glory.

Here’s the evidence:

1) For weeks there’s been a “Coming Soon” sign on the outside of the building, but today that sign is gone and the parking lot is filled with pickups and other cars that presumably belong to construction workers inside.

2) A look at the Web site of the Trifecta Management Group, which is taking over the operation, lists the logos of the Mine Shaft and its companion Rock House Grill and Tavern as being “Now Open,” (scroll down on the page), although the corresponding links to the Mine Shaft and Rock House Grill & Tavern Web sites are not yet live (Update: As of August 25th both sites are live, though the link from the Trifecta Web site to the Rock House page is not working.).

3) There was some news in the Houghton Mining Gazette last week that the Mine Shaft’s permit was transferred from the previous owners to a new company, KMPD, Inc., and some small updates have trickled out over the summer with respect to signage and a liquor license for the business.

4) In probably the biggest development, a sign on the Mine Shaft’s door today notes that interviews are being conducted all week for new staff (great news for the Houghton Hancock area).

Despite all of this apparently good news we haven’t heard an official update since the initial announcement in early June.  How about it, Trifecta, can we have an update on the timeline?  I know a lot of kids who are ready to get out there and play minigolf before the snow flies.

What do you think?  Is the return of the Mine Shaft to Houghton a good thing?  What will it take for it to succeed this time around.   Leave a comment here and give us your thoughts.

UPDATE: WLUC, the NBC affiliate for the Upper Peninsula, reports  that the Mine Shaft will reopen August 24.  Changes being made to the facility include updated furniture for a trendier look and removing a dance area from the restaurant so it’s exclusively for dining.

Great news!!