Doctor and entrepreneur Sandy Tarant. (Photos by Michael Thompson)
Saving prematurely born babies and running a slew of Richmond area hair salons keeps Sandy Tarant busy, but he still finds time to dream up new business ideas.
“I just get bored,” Tarant said. “What can I say? I’m driven.”
Tarant, a longtime neonatologist at Southside Regional Hospital, plans to open Thunderbolt Indoor Karting in April. The indoor go-kart track is taking over 40,000 square feet at 1365 Carmia Way in North Chesterfield.
Although the business is new, the doctor has been tinkering with entrepreneurship for decades. Fifteen years ago, he opened his first Great Clips franchise in Midlothian. Today he owns seven Richmond area Great Clips and has another in the works for Charlottesville.
“I’ve gone from saving babies to taking care of them with haircuts,” Tarant said. “Now it’s on to the entertainment aspect of things.”
To get there, Tarant got some inspiration from a boy he’s been mentoring for about four years.
Thunderbolt Indoor Karting at at 1365 Carmia Way.
He and his mentee, 13-year-old Christian Redford, got into activities such as skiing and martial arts. One day Tarant, who was looking to start another business, took Redford go-karting.
“We released the inner speed demon in him,” Tarant said of Redford. “He became a fanatic.”
Redford wasn’t alone. Tarant, 59, eventually visited tracks in Phoenix and Las Vegas, speaking with go-kart track owners and mechanics along the way as the idea for Thunderbolt moved closer to reality.
Aside from location, the most important decision for any track owner is the choice of what type of go-kart to use, Tarant said. When it came time to invest in his karts, it was a toss-up between gas-powered or electric-powered karts.
Tarant chose electric karts from Italian firm OTL.
Advantages of the battery-powered electric karts include avoiding carbon monoxide produced by gas engines and the required indoor ventilation. That allows for the track to be climate controlled. Going electric also cuts down on tune-ups, and kart speeds can be controlled remotely if the Thunderbolt staff deems it necessary. Electric karts can go as fast as 50 mph.
Tarant’s location, formerly a Rooms To Go furniture store, is next to Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, which held its grand opening this month.
The two businesses plan to offer joint packages that include time on the trampolines and time on the track.
Tarant wouldn’t say what it costs to open an indoor go-kart track but said his efforts are being financed by Union First Market Bank.
Thunderbolt will have 27 karts on hand. The adult karts cost between $8,500 and $9,000, and the junior karts came out to be about $6,500.
Most go-kart races last about eight minutes, Tarant said, but he plans to set the limits of a race not by time but by lap number. For about $20, an adult can get on the track for a 14-lap race, which concludes when one of the drivers completes 14 laps.
Tarant will compete with another indoor go-kart business: G-Force Karts at 4245 Carolina Avenue. There are also outdoor go-kart tracks at the Windy Hill Sports Complex at 16500 Midlothian Turnpike in Midlothian and Swaders Sports Park at 4725 Whitehall Boulevard in Prince George.
Although plans for the track have not been finalized, Tarant expects it to be about one-third of a mile long. The space will include a 300-square-foot party room and a 1,000-square-foot conference room.
“What really makes or breaks an opportunity like this will be the corporate clients,” Tarant said.
Doctor and entrepreneur Sandy Tarant. (Photos by Michael Thompson)
Saving prematurely born babies and running a slew of Richmond area hair salons keeps Sandy Tarant busy, but he still finds time to dream up new business ideas.
“I just get bored,” Tarant said. “What can I say? I’m driven.”
Tarant, a longtime neonatologist at Southside Regional Hospital, plans to open Thunderbolt Indoor Karting in April. The indoor go-kart track is taking over 40,000 square feet at 1365 Carmia Way in North Chesterfield.
Although the business is new, the doctor has been tinkering with entrepreneurship for decades. Fifteen years ago, he opened his first Great Clips franchise in Midlothian. Today he owns seven Richmond area Great Clips and has another in the works for Charlottesville.
“I’ve gone from saving babies to taking care of them with haircuts,” Tarant said. “Now it’s on to the entertainment aspect of things.”
To get there, Tarant got some inspiration from a boy he’s been mentoring for about four years.
Thunderbolt Indoor Karting at at 1365 Carmia Way.
He and his mentee, 13-year-old Christian Redford, got into activities such as skiing and martial arts. One day Tarant, who was looking to start another business, took Redford go-karting.
“We released the inner speed demon in him,” Tarant said of Redford. “He became a fanatic.”
Redford wasn’t alone. Tarant, 59, eventually visited tracks in Phoenix and Las Vegas, speaking with go-kart track owners and mechanics along the way as the idea for Thunderbolt moved closer to reality.
Aside from location, the most important decision for any track owner is the choice of what type of go-kart to use, Tarant said. When it came time to invest in his karts, it was a toss-up between gas-powered or electric-powered karts.
Tarant chose electric karts from Italian firm OTL.
Advantages of the battery-powered electric karts include avoiding carbon monoxide produced by gas engines and the required indoor ventilation. That allows for the track to be climate controlled. Going electric also cuts down on tune-ups, and kart speeds can be controlled remotely if the Thunderbolt staff deems it necessary. Electric karts can go as fast as 50 mph.
Tarant’s location, formerly a Rooms To Go furniture store, is next to Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, which held its grand opening this month.
The two businesses plan to offer joint packages that include time on the trampolines and time on the track.
Tarant wouldn’t say what it costs to open an indoor go-kart track but said his efforts are being financed by Union First Market Bank.
Thunderbolt will have 27 karts on hand. The adult karts cost between $8,500 and $9,000, and the junior karts came out to be about $6,500.
Most go-kart races last about eight minutes, Tarant said, but he plans to set the limits of a race not by time but by lap number. For about $20, an adult can get on the track for a 14-lap race, which concludes when one of the drivers completes 14 laps.
Tarant will compete with another indoor go-kart business: G-Force Karts at 4245 Carolina Avenue. There are also outdoor go-kart tracks at the Windy Hill Sports Complex at 16500 Midlothian Turnpike in Midlothian and Swaders Sports Park at 4725 Whitehall Boulevard in Prince George.
Although plans for the track have not been finalized, Tarant expects it to be about one-third of a mile long. The space will include a 300-square-foot party room and a 1,000-square-foot conference room.
“What really makes or breaks an opportunity like this will be the corporate clients,” Tarant said.