Carson back to grandfather’s Oak Ridge to run mini-golf, brewery
Aaron Carson has come back to his grandfather’s city to run The Greens, a re-opened miniature golf course. (photo:Ben Pounds )
The Greens is an eclectic mini-golf and games, brewery, hot dog and sausage restaurant and performance venue in Oak Ridge at 201 Tuskeegee Drive.
Aaron Carson is principal for The Greens’ parent company Gypsy Circus. He said the new business opened last November, but declared Thursday, March 7, and the following weekend its “grand opening” due to the warmer weather and updated facilities, including indoor seating.
He said his company is “always looking for talented individuals.”
“It was already an old Putt-Putt course, but we thought if we put a different spin on it, a different focus, we could make it something for both adults and kids with not just mini-golf but lots of games for the family and make the beer obviously for the adults,” he said. “The slogan we have is ‘eat, drink, play,’ and that’s certainly something we try to hold to.”
The courses had long sat vacant. The mini-golf is once again open with three 18-hole courses: a beginner one, a brewing-equipment themed intermediate one with blacklights at night unlike the other two’s white lights, and a more-difficult one featuring rocks and other more-natural landscaping. Other games for young and old include a giant chess set, ladder ball, bocce ball and cornhole, among others.
However, while the business has already drawn in kids and families, it has one specifically adult draw, Atomic City Brewing, which brews craft beers to serve on site and sell within the region.
“We are the first brewery in Oak Ridge and we’re proud of that,” he said, adding it’s also the first one for Anderson County. They have names like Y-12, Lit Light, Let the Sirens Ring and Human Shadows of Death, all with surreal B-movie style labeling reflected in the establishment’s murals.
The brewery also makes Atomic Dog Beer Beef Ale, a non-alcoholic drink for dogs. Ciders, brewed elsewhere by the parent company Gypsy Circus, are also available.
The food menu is both simple and complex, focusing on hot dogs and sides, but allowing for many types of buns, sausages and toppings.
Carson nowadays lives in Kingsport and Knoxville, but said he has long ties to Oak Ridge. He came as a child in the 1980s to visit his grandfather, C.A. Johnson.
“That’s the reason we picked Oak Ridge as our third facility,” he said, explaining that Gypsy Circus’ other two locations are in Kingsport and Knoxville. “Everyone’s been very welcoming,” he said, adding that the city government had been “open arms.”
Johnson worked for the Oak Ridge Public Library and Oak Ridge Police Department. He enjoyed dancing and motorcycling, specifically around Melton Hill Lake, and had a poodle named Honey who would sometimes wear goggles. Carson said he enjoyed hiking and boating with him during his visits.
Carson said his oldest child is a rower who goes to meets in the city.