Holy Crap: LA’s First Ax-Throwing Spot Just Opened in a North Hollywood Warehouse

Despite its presence as the undeniable best dining city in America right now, Los Angeles has managed to be completely excluded from one very important corner of the hospitality industry: Ax-throwing bars. Not anymore.

Fresh to North Hollywood is LA Ax, a playful new spot right on Coldwater Canyon. The big 12,500 square foot warehouse sits not far from the 170 and promises 30 lanes of action. The place is set up sort of like a bowling alley in that regard, where customers can play as part of pre-planned groups, or just drop in and start throwing. There’s no beer or wine available at LA Ax yet, just soft drinks, snacks, and food trucks, but that should be coming by the end of the year, if not sooner.

For those unfamiliar, ax-throwing bars are, as the name implies, places where folks go to drink alcohol and throw heavy axes at pieces of wood. It’s all loosely based on a popular Canadian drinking pastime, and indeed the first-ever ax-throwing bar opened in Toronto in 2006. Now there are spinoffs everywhere from Brooklyn to Detroit to Pittsburgh, and there’s even a National Axe Throwing Federation. LA Ax also has its own ongoing league, as well as private classes.

LA Ax is now open in North Hollywood, keeping hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, with an extension to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (Sunday is 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.). The event space is 21-and-over only, and there is safety training before each group begins.

LA Ax. 7308 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

• Ax-Throwing Bars, Explained [E]