In the “good clean fun” department comes Live Axe, an ax throwing venue (I know! but so fun) that opened this winter on Lafayette and White. I am just catching up on their New Kid status; they opened in October in a cavernous storefront space.

The idea of mixing beer and hatchets is popular enough to merit a Wall Street Journal trend story, and it is totally worth a night out. I would rank it higher than bowling by a long shot, especially since a successful throw makes you feel like a total bad ass. I balked at first at what seemed like a potentially lethal combo of alcohol and weapons, but my friend Philip assured me that your technique is enhanced with a glass under your belt. He was right.

The way it works is a reservation for $45 per person gets you your own bay with two targets for an hour, an instructor and a row of stools at bar height for viewing and the requisite commentary. (One cannot measure the speed with which my pal Sid can come up with a sexual innuendo. So needless to say there was a lot of snarfing of beer.) The “cage captain” teaches the group how to throw, provides coaching and encouragement throughout the session, and makes sure no one does anything stupid.

Food — flatbread pizzas, chicken tenders, sandwiches — is delivered to the bar at your cage; when you are done throwing you can retire to the tables in the center of the space.

Owner Zac Segal came from a retail background and for the past four years has been developing an app that allows you to tip people — baristas, parking lot attendants — with one click, anonymously and super fast. But that work takes time, and he was itching to do something fun and exciting in the meantime.

“As New Yorkers, we live busy lives, and we have that one slot a week to do something fun,” he said of his analysis. “Are we going to go to a bar? a restaurant? something outdoorsy? What if we could do something that has all three combined — food, drink and a cool activity that gets the body moving? This was new and so that’s where we started.”

The original plan was to open on March 5, 2020; there were covid restrictions till this spring and now they are fully up and running. Updated hours are below. Live Axe is the only location in Manhattan; the others in the city are in Williamsburg (natch) and Gowanus. You can also join a league.

Segal picked Tribeca since it’s central, close to all the trains, and, as he said, “it’s the place to be.” Right on.

Live Axe
96 Lafayette | White & Walker
888.812.9060
Monday-Thursday 11a – 12:30a
Friday-Saturday 10a – 1:30a
Sunday 10a – 12:30a