Jennifer Robinson is on a mission to empower the Sacramento community. Owner and chief marketing officer of Flatstick Pub, Robinson is a strong believer in supporting local businesses, artists and charities. Her new indoor, adults-only mini golf pub features local beer and wine exclusively from independently owned breweries and wineries. To enliven the 15,000-square-foot space, she recruited a diverse pool of Sacramento artists.
“The whole idea behind Flatstick Pub is a small business supporting small businesses,” she said.
Robinson received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Sacramento State in 2012. After graduation, she worked in sales, first for AT&T and then medical devices, where her territory eventually grew beyond California into Oregon and Washington. Ever the entrepreneur, Robinson and her then-boyfriend Brandon Robinson (now husband) opened several medical spas around the country. That business, however, wasn’t her true passion.
Robinson’s job and medical spa business often took her to Seattle, where she and her husband stumbled on a mini golf bar.
“It was the first time we’d seen anything like it,” she said. “We fell in love with it and wanted to create something like it in the Sacramento area.”
The couple reached out to the Seattle pub owner, who had no interest in expanding the endeavor. A few years later, Robinson enrolled in Sac State’s MBA program.
“At that point, we had been reaching out to the mini golf bar company in Seattle for almost two years and they still didn’t want to work with us,” she said. “We decided maybe we’d just create it on our own.”
Robinson used her time in the MBA program to create a business plan for her own mini golf bar, part of a new entertainment category known as “drinkertainment.”
“Sac State’s MBA program was the perfect place to cultivate ideas I was working on. I had all these bright minds working with me,” Robinson said. “My classmates in the program were excited to work on something that was real, and anytime I got stuck, they always had great ideas to help me move forward.”
Once she completed the MBA program and her business plan, Robinson reached out to the Seattle company one last time.
“I sent them the business plan, and that was the first time they realized we were serious. They finally gave us a chance,” she said.
Robinson and her husband now are the only licensees of the Seattle company, which has since expanded to six locations in Washington. Under their license, the Robinsons may open an unlimited number of Flatstick Pubs in Northern California. Their current Sacramento location in Downtown Commons near the Golden 1 Center opened in late 2019 and features a challenging mini golf course, a variety of mini golf-inspired games, a full restaurant, and multiple bars.
“It’s meant to be a gathering place for the community to come and enjoy games, local food and great local brews,” Robinson said.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the space is the artwork created by local artists. Nearly half of the pub’s walls are painted in artist Maren Conrad’s popular selfie-stylized murals.
The space also includes photo-realistic mosaics of golf legends, created by Blake Byers and built from golf equipment. The centerpiece of the pub is an interactive replica of the iconic Tower Bridge, crafted by metal sculpturist Gina Rossi and representing the capital’s geography and history.
“We wanted to bring in artists to help create something special and make the place an even more interactive destination,” Robinson said.
In addition to serving only local food and beverages and featuring only local artists, Robinson also helps support the local community through a fundraising effort called Sunday Fundraise.
“Sunday Fundraise stems from our goal to make Flatstick Pub more than just a bar to play games at and drink really great California beer,” she said. “We want to team up with awesome local organizations to help spread the word and raise money toward their cause through some good times at the pub.”
Each month, a new local charity is selected, and each Sunday of that month Flatstick donates $1 for every beer and $1 for every round of mini golf to that charity. Last year the pub raised more than $100,000 through Sunday Fundraise. This year’s goal is $200,000.
Robinson and her husband plan to expand beyond their current flagship location and open eight Northern California locations over the next five years.
Sacramento State’s College of Business (COB) develops engaged, responsible, and inclusive leaders that enrich communities around the world. The faculty are committed to providing the highest quality of education and serving as resources to its students. Founded in 1947, the COB offers five graduate degrees and one undergraduate degree.
