By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A fun new entertainment venue will be making its way to north St. Joseph later this year.
The owners of Joetown mini-golf, Joetown Speedway, and Cool Crest, are set to open Rickey Dean's later this year.
Member of Rickey Dean's Joe Lane says this is a project that he and his father-in-law, Rickey Dean Gilmore, have had for quite some time.
"Me and Rick, we've been talking about this, working on this, for over two years now," Lane tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "It would have happened a year sooner but the opportunity to purchase Cool Crest came, so obviously that's where all our money went at that time and we've revitalized it and it's been a success."
The name Rickey Dean's is inspired by Gilmore, Lane's wife Katie saying that none of this would be possible without him.
Lane says many of the ideas for Rickey Dean's attractions came from the community, and he and Gilmore decided to just smash them all together into one.
"Where something in St. Joe is actually a destination," Lane says. "You know, we're located right off of 29 by close to three hotels, and so people passing through St. Joe are going to pull off, stay at the hotels, see Rickey Dean's, and you know their first impression of St. Joe is going to be like holy cow this is a fun place to stay."
Lane says from his experience working in the St. Joseph School District, he knows a lot of kids here, don't have the opportunity to leave St. Joe.
"For kids in St. Joe to be able to come to a place like this, and this is something that you can see in Florida, and California, and Kansas City, and Branson, and this is big, this is big for the community," Lane explains.
And Lane says he also hopes it will be a big draw for those outside the community.
"People passing through are going to see this area and be like wow St. Joe's got it going on," Lane says. "They're going to stay in the hotels, they're going to come to our establishment."
Rickey Dean's is set to open December 2022. It will feature a big blacklight mini golf course, among many other things. You can find more information HERE.