Work record / Operating / AXT Axe Haus / Questions answered
AXT Axe Haus: questions answered
What people ask me about AXT Axe Haus, and my answers. The project itself has its own page.
What was the hardest part of winning the city's approval, and what did you have to prove?
I went at it in reverse on purpose. Costa Mesa's code had no entry for indoor axe throwing, and a conditional use permit only issues when staff can write findings of fact. An application resting on a comparison to an archery range would have had nothing under it. So I opened first, in October 2018, with reservations, parties and groups, and an instructor on every pair of lanes. The running venue became the evidence. A noise complaint got us stopped, we closed in January 2019, and over the spring we turned four months of operation into a packet with a fact beneath every finding. Then I went to the hearing myself.
At the hearing, what convinced the commissioners the operating controls would actually hold?
It was a rough room. The pushback came from the dais as much as from the floor, and the chair voted no. What carried it was that the conditions were ours. We put them forward ourselves: a valet, the operating hours, spacing between groups, and a screen wall facing the lofts. Staff could write each into a finding, rather than the commission handing them down. A condition you offer is a finding staff can write, and a condition forced on you is a negotiation you already lost. It was also my operation the findings described, so I could answer for it in person.
What gave the brand something to sell?
After the permit, word got around and operators began asking about partnering. The brand was sellable because we had filed the AXT mark well beyond the one room, across leagues, apparel, lessons, mobile rentals and running venues. The asset was the brand, and the room only had to prove it. The pitch told a buyer plainly that the party side was proven and the walk-in side was not.
How did studying the national leagues change the AXT concept?
It gave the venue credibility and consistency. Some people take up axe throwing and then want to compete. We built to national league standards so we would not be shutting those people out, and that is what happened. A few of them took it further.
What showed the league-ready design was working?
The traffic. The press was heavy. Hundreds of people came to the launch party, celebrities turned up from all over, and the corporate sponsors all came and wanted to throw.