ANN ARBOR, MI -- Strike your rage at downtown Ann Arbor’s newest ax-throwing venue.
Axe Ventura took over the 2,450-square-foot space at 332 Maynard St., a former dry cleaning shop, to bring a new activity to downtown. The venue, which opened on Friday, Dec. 6, has six bays, each with two lanes, and charges customers $35 an hour.
While the venue doesn’t sell food, customers are allowed to bring their own and can reserve a lane ahead of time with a security deposit.
Managing partners Anthony Taylor, Conor Duggan, both University of Michigan students, and Shannon Kozyra opened the venue after Taylor and Kozyra visited an ax-throwing bar in Louisville, Kentucky.
“There has to be one in Ann Arbor. It’s too big of a hub for something like this not to exist here,” Taylor said, adding the they thought people would enjoy this type of establishment.
The partners did not anticipate ax throwing to be their first business but had it in their minds to eventually open a business, Kozyra said.
Kozyra, who works in real estate, anticipated her first business would involve property ownership, while Taylor aspires to eventually open a gym or physical rehabilitation center.
Axe Ventura is expected to receive a liquor license next month to sell canned beer and bottled wine. But at least one safety monitor per bay, called “ax masters,” will keep an eye on customers to ensure no one is intoxicated, the partners said.
“We’re not trying to get people drunk and we’re not allowing people that are drunk to throw,” Taylor said. “If they’re coming in the door already drunk, we’re not going to let them in. We’re monitoring safety at all times.”
Customers are required to sign a waiver before they begin throwing. Anyone 12 years old or older can throw, though children must have a parent or guardian sign the waiver. Ax masters will then offer a rundown of ways to throw, safety protocols and how to play, where each person tracks scores through five throws a game.
Axe Ventura is open from 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Several rules apply, including being respectful, wearing closed-toed shoes and promoting a safe throwing environment. Patrons will be kicked out if they fail to obey the rules, the business owners said.