HaliMac Axe Throwing Will Add Archery And Knives With 2023 Expansion
HALIFAX–Paul MacInnis believes axe throwing has become so popular because of the “visceral” experience it offers. In a time where so many hobbies are done in the digital world, it can be satisfying to hear the sound of sharp metal hitting a wooden target.
“It is a very visceral experience. You get to do the thing; you get to throw that axe and it’s very satisfying. And the beauty of it is anyone can do it,” said MacInnis. He added even his young children love the activity.
“They’ve been landing bullseyes since they were six and nine,” he said.
Now MacInnis, who co-owns HaliMac Axe Throwing with his cousin Adrian Beaton, wants to give people more of those visceral experiences. Starting next spring, the company’s Halifax location on Brunswick Street will be adding an escape room, knife throwing, and archery.
Next spring, the company will also be rebranding as HaliMac Entertainment
“We just wanted to offer our guests even more. I mentioned a visceral experience and we just want to add more of those activities that will bring people back again to try something new,” said MacInnis.
“When we told our staff about it, it was just sheer excitement. They were so pumped at the prospect of coming in and working with something exciting and new.”
The Brunswick Street location, which opened in 2019, has 4,000 square feet of space with a very high ceiling, which is perfect for expansion.
“We’ve always wondered what if we can go up?” Recalls MacInnis.
When construction starts in the spring of 2023 the location will have to close for a few weeks. But MacInnis doesn’t expect the expansion project to take longer than six or seven weeks. It will also cost the company more than six figures by the time it’s finished.
HaliMac has seen a lot of success since it opened its first location in Newfoundland in 2016. It now has three locations, including one in Fredericton.
The love for axe throwing began years ago when a family member of MacInnis and Beaton had a special birthday party in Ontario.
“My uncle (Adrian’s father) was having his 60th birthday planned and they went axe throwing,” recalled MacInnis. “Adrian called me and said ‘hey I just went axe throwing and I think we should make it a business back here in the east.’ I thought he went completely insane.”
“But next thing you know we’re opening our location in Newfoundland.”
The popularity of axe throwing is a bit of an anachronism given our modern, safety-obsessed culture. In fact, it’s amazing that a place that serves alcohol and offers the chance to throw a sharp object can even get insured in this day and age. But MacInnis says it’s not as hard as you might think to open up such a place.
“By the time we started, axe-throwing was well established in places like Ontario. A lot of these big underwriters are in the bigger centres of our country. It falls into a category called ‘unique risk,’ so our premiums are a little bit higher, but not to the point where it will dissuade from opening a location.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].