New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Pizza, beer, ax throwing paired in new business
ORANGE — COVID-19 took a whack at the projected profits of the Montana Nights Axe Throwing business, but the owner is hoping a new location in the Christmas Tree Plaza and its two others in the state will be on target as the pandemic subsides and the nights get colder.
“Business is off for a number of reasons the past year-and-a-half,” said owner Merle McKenzie, citing the pandemic and nice weather since April. “We have a road ahead of us.”
But now that the corporate bookings are coming in and the indoor weather is approaching, “Overall, we’re going to be set up for a pretty decent year,” he said.
McKenzie and his business partners — his wife, Diana McKenzie, and his best friend since high school, Glenn Perra — opened their first Montana Nights bar/axthrowing venue in Newington in 2018, then Southington in 2019 and, most recently, Orange in mid-August.
“I love, love, love being creative in the buildouts and you can see that in Orange,” McKenzie said.
He chose ax throwing as the focal point of his bars, based on fond memories of throwing axes at logs as a Boy Scout.
The “Montana Nights” concept came from his love of that state, its rustic wilderness, woodsy lodges, bears and buffalo, an atmosphere he puts into each Montana Nights location.
“I’ve had a deep and long love affair with the state of Montana. … It has everything I love,” McKenzie said, noting he has no official ties to the state, but visits often.
The Orange venue features alcoholic mixed drinks, wine and craft beer in prepackaged bottles and cans, and Square Peg Pizzeria.
The Orange bar has a Montana feel throughout – a menacing taxidermy bear near the entrance, huge photographs of buffalo, bison and moose — and antler chandeliers. The scent of Yankee Candle balsam fir candles fills the air.
The entertainment focal point is ax throwing. For those who might wonder, “What can go wrong when you mix alcohol with ax throwing,” McKenzie’s answer is, not much at his place.
He said participants are trained and accompanied by an “axemaster” — or “axepert” — the entire time.
The way it works is that customers throw the small axes in caged pits at a choice of numerous digitally projected targets including zombie heads, and games such as Tic Tac
Toe and a Connect Four-type game.
It’s so safe, McKenzie said, 10year-olds are allowed to throw the axes.
“We specialize in fun and we specialize in safety,” he said.
They also have an arcade, pool tables and suites for dart throwing.
Katelyn Driscoll, assistant manager of the Orange store and also one of the “axperts” said people often are “nervous” throwing axes for the first time, but once they get the hang of it, “everybody says they had a good time and we’ll be back.” The also often say, “this is easier more fun than I thought,” she said
She said adult customers with grown children often comment,
“This is the place we needed because we don’t want to just go to a bar,” without doing something fun.
Driscoll recently demonstrated a one-handed throw and two-handed throw, saying the key is to throw the ax in “one fluid motion.”
There are seven caged throwing pits, with two target boards in each pit. Friends or strangers matched up by staff can compete, and that competition escalates the fun, McKenzie said.
The ax throwing is booked through reservation and is about to get busier, Driscoll said, as colder months “are our season.”
There are various packages, but the basic price is $26 for 75 minutes.
Upstairs in the Orange location is a 2,000-square-foot mezzanine with leather couches, tables and a juke box.
McKenzie said the COVID-19 pandemic hurt the businesses overall because the state forced bars to close for months, then reopened at only 25 percent capacity. Masks are optional for vaccinated visitors.
“We’ve been functioning at 20 to 30 percent of our revenue for two years,” he said. “Every day’s a little bit better, but it’s not fast enough.”
Even though times are tough, McKenzie, who also owns other businesses, continues to enjoy the field.
“It’s an avenue to be able to build a place that captures people’s imagination,” he said. “I’ve taken a mundane business (bar business) and I get to make it really interesting.”
Even their souvenir T-shirts are edgy. One has a picture of a no-name beer bottle with an ax lodged in it, with the words, “I Survived Corona 2020”; another reads, “I Drink and I Throw Things.”
The Orange location at 220 Indian River Road is closed Mondays and open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday; and Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit https://montananights.com/orange/.