By Felicia LaLomia and McKenzi Thi Murphy
The first cornhole-dedicated facility on Long Island is set to open in late March in Port Jefferson Station for both recreational fun and league competitions, after a delayed open due to coding issues.
Cornhole of America will run in a similar fashion to a bowling alley. The indoor space is large enough for up to ten games to run simultaneously and the owners plan to host both league tournaments and open-play for newcomers.
“We’ve been playing cornhole for many, many years,” Jennifer Micheline, a representative from Cornhole of America, said. “And we saw how people reacted to playing, especially up here because it’s new. It’s new, it’s something to do.”
Cornhole is mainly an outdoor social game where players throw bean bags onto a board with a hole that is 27 feet away. Landing in the hole is worth more than landing on the board. But Cornhole of America is a strictly indoor facility.
The building is located on Bicycle Path alongside other warehouse businesses such as Royals Boxing Gym and Spins Gymnastics Academy. “That particular address is not going to get a lot of exposure,” Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, said. Nevertheless, she welcomes a new business like this in the area.
“It’s a new phenomenon… the corn hole recreational facility. I hope it’s not a fad,” she said.
The location could be an asset, Micheline said. Situated just off of Route 112, it could trigger the curiosity of passersby.
“We figured people kind of know this place because of Spins [gym] over there,” Micheline said. “The high school’s down the road. This does get a lot of traffic.”
Cornhole began in the midwest, and has since gained popularity countrywide, Gregory Cocheo, a Long Island director for the American Cornhole League (ACL), said.
At least 40 bars, breweries and pubs now host regular tournaments in New York, according to nycornhole.com.
“[Long] Island is a little behind the times I believe, but everywhere else is growing tremendously,” Cocheo said. “I wanna say by the end of the summer it’ll be really popular.”
ESPN hosted the American Cornhole Organization World Championship in 2017. Competitors played for a $50,000 cash prize and 300,000 people tuned in to watch.
As the first cornhole-only facility on the island, Cornhold of America is entering new territory. And turning that into a successful business, Doug Polito, a local cornhole player, said, may not be possible.
“The problem with indoors is covering all your costs while making a profit,” Polito said. “Ideally starting up in October or November would’ve been a better time to get it off the ground. It will be a little tougher to get people now that everyone is looking to get outdoors soon.”
The key to a cornhole business becoming successful in any area is pushing the game, ACL Media Director Trey Ryder said.
“So we have a few [locations] across the country. There’s one in Las Vegas and a couple in Texas. A big thing that we kinda push is cornhole is unique in that it can be played anywhere by anyone,” Ryder said. “It requires minimal physical exertion and satisfies competitive edge.”
The simplicity of the game allows for fast learning and appeal to all ages, Micheline said.
“Anybody can play,” she said. “Obviously you got people who are better than others, but it doesn’t take stamina, crazy skill. You could sit on a chair and throw bean bags if you want. We see everybody play.”
The new venue is scheduled to open before the end of the month. But even before their grand opening, Micheline and the owners believe this business will take off.
“This will be the first location,” she said. “We’re definitely looking to open up at least one more on Long Island, and then we’ll start to branch out.”