RICHLANDS, Va. — An old newspaper building in Richlands has become a new venue for a unique sporting trend sweeping the nation.
Gerald Collins recently opened an ax-throwing business called Bad Axery in the far western Virginia town of more than 5,300 people.
“I wanted to put something in the area that was different that you couldn’t go and do somewhere else,” Collins said. “I researched and found there was no axe throwing anywhere around, and it was picking up interest in the tourist areas.”
Collins and his wife, Sara own the new business located in the former Richlands News Press Building at 1217 Front St. The Axery had been open a week before holding its official grand opening April 2. He said business has been good during the first week.
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A Buchanan County native, Collins has lived in Richlands for two years but said he spent a lot of time there growing up.
“When we went to town it was usually Richlands,” he said.
Collins used what was the press and mail room of the building for the Axery because he wanted it to have an agricultural look. The space is wide open, and there are exposed floor joists in the ceilings to make it look like a barn. For those who like nostalgia, he retained the original brick walls and concrete floor from the newspaper days.
There is a leftover newspaper rack inside the building. In an effort to help his fellow local businesses, 95% of the wood was purchased from a local sawmill and other materials were purchased locally.
“Everything we do is to help the town and the kids and give people something to do,” Collins said.
The venue is geared toward kids and those who don’t have to watch their diet. When not throwing axes or hitting baseballs or softballs in the batting cage, guests can feast on artisan pizza, dirty fries, crazy milkshakes, cotton candy and other foods.
There are several lanes for ax throwers with two being world ax throwing sanctioned throwing lanes.
“We can host tournaments or other competitions on those,” Collins said.
There are four projector-style lanes offering a variety of games. The projector lanes offer zombie heads, tic-tac-toe and connect four. Collins said he can get more games for the projector lanes but is slowly bringing things out. There are moving and stationary targets available.
There is a back border where the ax falls straight down as a safety measure when you hit the target.
The new business also has batting cages, (softball and baseball) for those who want to hit something rather than throw an ax.
“I noticed there weren’t any batting cages around for the kids, and there are a lot of travel ball teams in the area,” he said.
For snacks, Bad Axery has a variety of specialty milkshakes, called Lumberjack Shakes including one called the Campfire with Nutella and roasted marshmallows that Sara Collins concocted. The couple also plans to offer pulled pork as another topping on the dirty fries.
Bad Axery is open from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and can be rented for private events on Sundays and Mondays.
Richlands Mayor Rod Cury welcomed the business to town and joined other dignitaries and chamber members in cutting a ribbon to officially open the doors Saturday.
