Recreational axe-throwing is coming to Mobile, and in a historic Midtown building to boot.
Strong Arm Axe Throwing signed a lease Friday to occupy space in the old Blue Bird Hardware building. The distinctive ’50s structure, which sits across Old Shell Road from the UMS-Wright Preparatory School campus, was restored in recent years. Since renovations were completed a Papa Murphy’s Pizza has occupied part of the building, while additional space remained available.
Victoria Calder said that she and two other Mobile-based partners hope to have Strong Arm up and running this summer. When that happens Mobile will have joined a fashion that has been spreading across the country in recent years, with at least two international sanctioning bodies providing rules and structures for competition. Clubs already have opened in Huntsville and Birmingham.
There are even axe-throwing business chains with clubs in multiple cities. One of them, Civil Axe Throwing, says it has a Mobile location coming soon. Calder said Strong Arm will be a locally owned independent operation.
"It's very similar to a bowling alley model," Calder said of the business model. "It can be played as competitive or non-competitive as you want," meaning anything from a fun night out for friends to serious league play.
In other words, it's a recreational activity that might even have some physical fitness benefits, depending on how you approach it. (A Men's Health report deemed it "the best way to build abs while simultaneously drinking a beer.")
Calder said that any plans to offer food and beverages at Strong Arm will be determined in the future: "At most clubs you typically bring your own, so we're going to start off with that model." Right now, she said, the focus is just on getting the axes in the air.
Calder said she and her partners spent a lot of time trying to identify a central location with the potential to draw people interested in the sport.
“It’s just such a beautiful building,” she said. “That was a big part of it.”
Real estate broker Jay O’Brien of J.L. O’Brien & Associates said that the Blue Bird Hardware building’s incoming new tenants also include two health-related businesses, Peak Alkalinity and OsteoStrong. With the three new tenants and Papa Murphy’s in place, he said, a limited amount of space will remain available. For more information, call 251-661-8100.
Note: This story has been updated with additional information on new Blue Bird tenants.