Axes To Throw And Beer To Flow On Chapel

New Haveners will finally be able to drink beer and throw axes at wooden targets thanks to a new business slated for Chapel Street.

The owners of a proposed axe-throwing entertainment venue won all necessary zoning relief Tuesday night at the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals at the municipal building at 200 Orange St.

Josh Kroscen, the co-owner of the Hartford-based Pine & Iron Axe Throwing company, and local attorney James Perito successfully pitched the zoning commissioners as to the unique value and entertainment afforded by throwing dulled axes at white pine boards while enjoying a craft beer. Kroscen plans to open the new Pine & Iron outlet in a currently vacant, nearly 6,000 square-foot ground floor retail space at 770 Chapel St. in the Ninth Square.

“Pine & Iron is a place for friends and coworkers to socialize and engage in the thrill of axe throwing,” Kroscen said. ​“We’re really excited about bringing this destination-type of business to the heart of New Havaen.”

The zoning commissioners voted unanimously in support of granting Kroscen, through his and partner Matthew Hock’s holding company The New Haven Experience Co. LLC, a special exception to allow for the use of indoor amusement and a special exception to allow for a cafe liquor license in a BD‑1 (Central Business-Residential) zone.

The venue will have 10 axe throwing lanes, a lounge with board games and arcade games, a bar that only serves beer and wine with a two-drink-per-person maximum, private throwing rooms, a bathroom and a workshop. It will be open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, with private party reservations available for Mondays and Tuesdays. The company will have four full-time employees and 18 part-time employees, Perito said, and its owners will be presenting the venture to the Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team later this month.

Here’s how it works, Kroscen explained: Customers reserve one of the lanes online or in person. Typically customers rent a lane in groups of four to eight people, but Pine & Iron can accommodate larger parties.

All participants have to wear closed-toe shoes, present a state-issued photo ID, and read and sign a safety agreement before they begin.

When they arrive, customers wait in a lounge, where they can play board games like Jenga and Connect Four, and watch other guests throw. An axe-throwing coach then provides safety and instructional training to the group, takes them to their designated lane, and lets them practice. Guests then jump into playing the game themselves, throwing axes at white pine boards, all under the supervision of a coach and additional staff.

“Firstly,” he said, ​“Pine & Iron follows the guidelines of the NATF, which is the National Axe Throwing Federation, which has over 6,000 members in over 75 cities. It’s a nationally accepted standard by the top two insurance agencies in this industry.”

The lanes are designed to limit the bounce of axes after they’ve been thrown, he said, and only one guests can throw at a time.

Since opening in Hartford in June 2018, he said, his company hasn’t had any safety issues or problems with guests acting irresponsibly with the axes. The Hartford business has a bring your own beer (BYOB) policy, but the New Haven one will have its own bar serving craft beer and wine.

“Only two drinks per person,” he said. ​“No shots, happy hours, or drink specials.”

Do guests have to wear helmets? BZA member Anne Stone asked.

No, Kroscen replied. They have to wear closed-toe shoes, but, since the lanes are separated from one another by walls and since only one guest can throw in a lane at a time, there’s no chance of someone throwing an axe at a target and accidentally hitting a fellow guest.

How sharp are the axes? Stone asked.

“They’re really not sharp enough to cut skin,” Kroscen said. ​“They’re dulled significantly.”

A representative from the Town Green Special Services District, Alder Dolores Colon (whose Hill ward happens to stretch up to Chapel Street to include this location), and landlord Julie Bernblum came out to testify in support of the venture.

“The space has been vacant for a while,” Bernblum said, ​“and, given its size at just under 6,000 feet, it’s been very difficult to find a tenant that would be appropriate. Retail’s been very difficult right now, especially in the Ninth Square. We should be happy that such an inventive concept wants to business in New Haven.”