Today we’d like to introduce you to Vik & Lina Khasat.
Hi, Vik & Lina; we appreciate you sharing your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The story of The Dirdie Birdie started during the pandemic in a time not so dissimilar to others worldwide. We were stuck at home thinking of what we used to do and places we used to go. For us, this meant visiting several local Austin restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues on date nights or time out with friends. We found ourselves favoring more interactive and unique experiences. Mini golf was one of our favorite date night activities that was easy and fun but also competitive. We would even make fun bets on who was making breakfast the following day or where we were going for the next round of drinks. In this time however, we found that most mini golf courses were still stuck in the old ways – the same old designs and features we would see back when we were kids. The conversation on our couch that sparked the idea was about evolving the game to the modern day while creating nostalgia from good times in years past and pairing it with a full-service restaurant and bar with the same playful, nostalgic, and quality feel. The several stops we would take throughout the night could be consolidated into one – dinner, drinks, and a great time playing mini golf at The Dirdie Birdie. Given our love for Austin, we wanted to base our course designs around places and things that make the city great. After falling in love with this idea, we jumped in head first and put everything we had into it, a huge risk to make this pipe dream a reality. We’re here one year after opening and so happy with the team we have created and how the city has welcomed us. With little to no industry experience, we took it upon ourselves to partner with local industry vets like Nic Yanes (Excelsior Hospitality Group) on culinary & operations and Clayton Korte for design and project management. Our thought was, and still is, that if we bring in the right people, we can’t go wrong.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
This industry is notoriously difficult to open and operate in, and we had many of those same struggles along the way. We were tasked with opening and running a full-service restaurant and bar but also intertwining the operations of what had quickly become a busy mini-golf experience. That being said, starting this process during the pandemic added another layer of difficulties as we were hit with rising costs in construction, delays, and other surprises to overcome.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We want Austin to know that The Dirdie Birdie is more than just mini golf – it’s the whole experience! We’ve carefully designed and implemented an incredible menu and drink selection that we feel still stands out in the already impressive culinary scene Austin offers. We hope we’ve delivered on creating a space and brand that feels incredibly inviting, playful and flat-out fun. We understand most of our guests hear of us for the mini golf, but we encourage everyone to hang out, grab drinks at our beautiful bar, and try our menu!
Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
I’ve always believed in the old adage, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation and opportunity meet.’ We consider ourselves very fortunate for many reasons, but also remember that we create our luck through finding opportunities, being resilient, and our intuition.
Pricing:
- Mini golf is $18 per person.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dirdiebirdieatx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedirdiebirdie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedirdiebirdie/
Image Credits
Consumable Content
