At Rumours Resto-Café in Otter Lake, owners Crystal and Richard Lance are offering something new for those looking for a fun family experience in the Pontiac.

With the combination of an escape room and . . .

a new putting course that opened earlier this summer, they’re hopeful that they can draw more traffic towards the restaurant.

Officially opened in June, the new mini-putt course has become the flavour of the month for the business, Dubeau said.

Dolled up with all sorts of colourful decorations like little bunnies, garden gnomes and frog beds, the course is designed to be aesthetically pleasing as much as it is mini-golf ready.

Featuring nine holes, each representing a different theme, each hole is sponsored by a different community organization.

With a number of parasols and little picnic tables set on the perimeter of the course, participants will be able to catch some shade while watching others hit a few balls.

“Here we wanted it to be relaxed,” she said. “So, that you can spend two hours on the course if you like. You don’t have to rush for it.”

Fares are $6 per person and the restaurant will enter all scorecards to raffle off a gift certificate.

“They write their name and phone number on the back,” she said. “We’re going to do a draw.”

While Dubeau has worked at the restaurant since she was 16, the implementation of the project was something that she had envisioned for some time.

“I’ve wanted it forever,” she said.

With a lot of unused space in the backyard of the restaurant, the owners felt like it was the ideal location to create such a project.

“It’s the perfect place for a mini-putt,” Lance said.

After purchasing all of the tools necessary to assemble the course back in October, it was still important to keep everything under wraps.

To keep it a secret, owners draped a curtain over the window at the back of the restaurant, leaving it out of the community’s sight.

“Nobody knew what we were doing,” she said. “They thought I was doing a patio back there. But I’m not that boring.”

The course is named the Secret Garden, playing on their restaurant’s theme of subtlety. Their new mascot is a large bunny named Mr. Whispers.

Now, with the course in place, they expect to host many community events going forward, including a fundraiser for diabetes research this September, Dubeau said.

Barring inclement weather, the course is expected to remain open until Thanksgiving weekend.

As all the pieces of the putting course are interchangeable, Dubeau said she might expand or change some of the holes to make the course more intricate next year.

Having experienced a number of escape rooms in Ontario in previous years, Dubeau and Lance were intrigued about creating their own.

Situated in an old motel with a selection of old abandoned rooms, the restaurant felt like a fitting setting, Dubeau said.

As the activity consists of being locked with a group of people in an old motel room and trying to solve a murder mystery.

With one hour on the clock, participants use their wits and teamwork to find their way out of the enclosed space. Those who manage to solve the mystery earn a gift certificate for the restaurant, Dubeau said.

Considering the modest size of the rooms, the maximum number of participants is eight, while the recommended number stands between four and six, Dubeau said.

With only one escape room for now, Dubeau said that if the project remains successful, they will look into expanding it to upwards of five rooms.

As a project-junkie, Dubeau implemented the putting course and the escape rooms to make the workplace a little more exciting, at least for now.

“I need to have a lot of different projects and this keeps me busy,” she said.

Offering three experiences in one place – dining, putting and escape rooms – Dubeau hopes folks coming in for a bite to eat will take advantage of all the activities the restaurant offers.

“Instead of just being an hour, they can be here for three hours,” she said. “It will make it a bigger deal.”

Living in a small town without a wide selection of activities to choose from, the Secret Garden putting course and Intrigue escape room are significant additions for local families, Dubeau said.

“Everyone says Otter Lake is boring,” she said. “Well we’re trying to change that.”

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