Although Smash N Axes Emporium has only been open for a few months, the business has gotten many people in the community excited about what it has to offer.
Friends and business partners, Aimee Hunter and Kristi Leonetti, have been focused on providing their patrons with a unique entertainment experience, blending axe throwing and a smashing room.
“I had a cleaning business for a while [but] been trying to get out of it for some time, and I was looking for something to do. Kristi came to me one day and asked me if I wanted to start a business…as she said that, I had already been thinking about opening a smash room and we decided to add the axe throwing,” said Hunter explained. “Then we went and looked at some places that we could do those things at. We decided that we wanted to also offer food and be licensed as many of the places that we went to for entertainment lacked anything to do afterwards. We thought it would be nice to have a place where people could hang out after, have drinks and some food without leaving the place.”
Leonetti, who still works as a dental assistant, explained the need for a place like Smash N Axes in Brantford.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes with all the influx of people coming in and with the housing markets booming….and there weren’t really too many places that were in Brantford to offer some entertainment as a few of those places Game Time and a couple of bowling alleys closed. And we saw that a lot of people were leaving the city as a result. Not a lot of people have disposable income, so we wanted to keep it affordable too,” added Leonetti. “Many people have been excited to see something new and something that doesn’t require them to simply go out to the bar. It’s been good so far. A lot of those customers that have already come in are still dropping by and enjoying what we have to offer.”
Although axe-throwing places are a little more established, the smash room is a novel concept that has drawn customers to the business.
“The smash rooms have been popular because it’s a great way to release some tension and aggravation. We get a lot of our pieces for the smash room through people’s donations. A lot of people right now are going through downsizing…they don’t want things like figurines or China. So instead of either having a garage sale or taking it to the dump themselves, they can bring it here for our smash room. We offer to come and pick it up, and we give them five dollars off of the actual hour,” Leonetti said.
However, the partners opened the Smash N Axes Emporium on the Family Day weekend.
“For that weekend, we did a splatter room. As it is an adult only venue, we opened it up to the younger kids during this weekend, and they got a canvas they could decorate with their families. And then they also helped us ‘paint’ up our walls to give them some character. We turned that splatter room into a smash room. For March Break, we again turned it back into a splatter room because so many people like what we did for Family Day,” Hunter said.
Along with the brick-and-mortar location, Leonetti and Hunter also have a mobile for axe-throwing.
“Near the end of last summer…we parked our [mobile] at Waterworks Park and were at the Burford fair and people enjoyed the axe-throwing. We can bring it to different places and incorporate the mobile at company events at their facility, [and] we definitely want to use it to provide team building exercises. And for these types of company events, we can also offer different food packages as well as Aimee is a wonderful cook,” said Leonetti.
However, the establishment also offers sit-down and catering menus, along with various events and initiatives to help continue to draw people in.
“We have a live music night along with other events with door prizes. We recently had a book signing by a local author, which was a success. We are also looking at starting a few different leagues for axe-throwing. We want to do a mixed league, a women’s league, and a rainbow league,” Hunter explained. “We want to do something good for like-minded people to meet and have some fun during the week. We are also dedicated to creating a safe space where everyone is comfortable and where no one will be judged for who they are.”
