Ed and Kristine Mele were driving along Route 75 in Agawam, MA one recent spring day, when they happened to spot a closed miniature golf course just over the border from Suffield.
The Enfield couple inquired about the course, leased the facility from its owner, and before they knew it, the Sand Trap was re-opened under their management.
"We had been looking to build a miniature golf course in Enfield, but this one just happened to fall upon us," Ed Mele said Sunday.
The course had been out of operation since 2010, so the duo spent several weeks readying the site for play. It opened to the public in mid-June, and is now open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"It's been quite a challenge to get it up and running, but it's been very rewarding," Ed Mele said.
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At this time, the Meles are solely operating the miniature golf course and snack stand. "We have Blue Bunny ice cream, snacks and soft drinks, and in a couple of weeks we'll have our soft serve up and running," Ed Mele said.
Mele said business has been increasing since re-opening the course. "We see improvement every day," he said.
The group gave the business a boost Sunday, as nearly two dozen members turned out to support their hometown colleagues.
"I would like to thank everyone who came out," Mele wrote on the Enfield Needs Change Facebook page. "It is people like you that make us very happy that we call the town of Enfield our home."
Mele said he and his wife hope to eventually buy the property. "We'll see how this season goes, and if the owner will sell it to us, we'll probably end up buying it in a couple years," he said.
The pitch-and-putt golf course, which operated for many years, is overgrown and vacant, but Mele did not rule out the possibility of acquiring that part of the business as well.
