EMBRACE YOUR VIKING SPIRIT. Ironside Axe Club offers a great opportunity for you to destress – or have a date night with your honey. Perhaps not coincidentally, managers Manny Kohl and Anna Obrecht are sweethearts-turned-managers – and they say axe throwing does, in fact, lend itself for a great date night.

If you think chucking axes isn’t an ideal date night for you and your honey, think again.

Or at least that’s what Manny Kohl and Anna Obrecht – sweethearts-turned-managers of the new Ironside Axe Club in Eau Claire – say about their new business venture on London Road.

“It’s a very simple, very basic concept. It’s super satisfying ... We have made a couple hundred friends
from all over the world.”
– Manny Kohl, Ironside Axe Club

Founded by Scott and Lisa Gardner in 2018, this Des Moines, Iowa-based business offers opportunities for birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, group outings, walk-ins, and – you guessed it – even date nights.

“It’s a very simple, very basic concept,” Kohl said. “It’s super satisfying.” You just put your arm back, throw an axe, and hope it sticks to the wall.

If you’re thinking axe throwing sounds like more effort than it’s worth, think again! “When I wasn’t cutting hair, you could find me at the club throwing axes,” said Obrecht, a former cosmetologist. The sound the axe makes when it sticks to the wall makes you want to get better and better at it, the pair said.

Ironside Axe Club has five locations: Rochester, Minnesota; three across Iowa; and now one in Eau Claire.

“We have made a couple hundred friends from all over the world,” Kohl said. They offer axe throwing leagues through the World Axe Throwing League – meaning you can compete against some of the best axe throwers in the world! But their business is about much more than just throwing axes, Obrecht said. Many people bring potluck dinners and socialize, making it a more fun get-together.

“We just want a good stress-reliever,” Kohl said. They originally wanted to open the business in March, but ended up opening July 4 after dragging their feet, the duo said. Though summer is a slow time for axe-throwing businesses, they said foot traffic has been good. They ask that folks wear face masks (and they have some available for those who don’t have one), and they have a rigorous sanitation process, they said.

They’re hoping to offer a space where people can forget about the worries of the world for a little bit and just have a little fun – while still staying safe, of course!

For more information about Ironside Axe Club, check out their website.