Quarantine Axe Throwing League gains momentum across Minnesota

(FOX 9) - Last month, FOX 9 told you about the Quarantine Axe Throwing League. What started as an invitation thrown out to others around the world has really stuck. 

“Originally we thought it was going to be something small, something niche,” Bad Axe Throwing CEO Mario Zelaya said. “We have a heck of a lot of people, I believe we’re at 325 people now.”

The idea is the brainchild of Zelaya, a pioneer in the business of axe throwing. This digital way of doing this hobby lets people build their own setups to play against each other via video chat. 

“It’s almost like speed dating,” Zelaya says. “You get to meet great people from across the world. It’s very awesome."

The virtual way to play has opened up doors to everyone to participate. A question now: when will Bad Axe and similar business be able to open up their brick and mortar locations?

The company has two locations in Minneapolis and almost 40 locations across the country.

“I would say as soon as the governor says that we can open up,” Zelaya says of the time frame of reopening the Minnesota locations. 

Bad Axe’s Minneapolis locations remain closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the business has started to softly open elsewhere. 

Atlanta & Oklahoma City facilities are now open for private lane sessions with safety protocols being a priority. 

“The thing that is nice about our business, is that there aren’t many touch points,” Zelaya says. “The only touch point is the axe, which gets wiped down (after each use).”

“I would say it is equally as safe, if not even more so, as going to a grocery store where you have so many touch points with boxes and people moving stuff around.”

But like similar businesses awaiting for word to open, foot traffic will ultimately determine the future. 

“It’s more about getting rid of the fear, and will the government have more data,” Zelaya says.

“Some sort of an encouragement that makes people safe to go out. Until that changes, I think it’s going to be difficult. Not only for us, but for all businesses.”