When it comes to hosting a holiday party or having a team building exercise outside the office, bowling or a catered lunch are nice, if not unspectacular options. Or, you can really give a memorable, exciting experience for your employees with north Louisiana’s first indoor axe-throwing range.
Bayou Axe Co. is a unique venue for hosting a corporate event. Whether that’s a team building trip or, with the holidays right around the corner, an off-campus office party.
Co-owner Doug Rodgers said he’s been there, “You go to a Christmas party and you talk to the same people you see all day, every day at work. I’ve done it a thousand times, it’s boring. Here, you can come in and do something different — eat, play pool, have a drink, and of course, throw axes.”
Rodgers and his partners Geno and Jennifer Goodman located Bayou Axe Co. next to BeauxJax Crafthouse at 509 Barksdale Blvd. in the East Bank District because of the Bossier City district’s foot traffic and open-carry law.
“We love the vibe in the East Bank District. It’s starting to grow, yet it is keeping the old school buildings. We also noticed that there is a good amount of foot traffic in that area on Friday and Saturday nights. We live in Bossier and love Bossier City, and we knew we wanted to introduce the city to this new sport we had discovered,” Geno Goodman previously told BIZ.
That vibe has carried over to their approach to offering corporate events. Rodgers explained that an out of the ordinary environment can make normal work outings fun. And, axe throwing gives employees the added benefit of stress relief.
“You can come in here with your group instead of sitting around a conference table. Taco Bell recently came in and put up pictures of things they wanted to change on the target. They had a presentation and then threw axes at the pictures,” Rodgers revealed.
The venue can accommodate up to 100 people comfortably. Rodgers said they’ll give the company the entire venue to themselves and have their neighbors, BeauxJax Crafthouse, come in and set up a catered buffet.
“We teach everyone how to throw, let them throw for a little while, eat, and then get down to the competition. We’ll let them pick four team captains and choose their teams for an axe throwing contest to see who is the office champion for bragging rights,” he added.
For larger groups 50-100 employees, it’s best to set up two weeks in advance. For less than 50 employees, a week’s notice will work.
“The reason why the more lead time the better is because we do online bookings and we want to make sure we can block off your time and there’s not something reserved in the middle of your party,” Rodgers explained.
Monday and Tuesdays are the best days to reserve because Bayou Axe Co. is normally closed, where Wednesday through Saturday nights are difficult because it’s the peak business hours.
However, Rodgers points out that it’s not impossible. He said the venue recently had a party of 100 people on a Friday night block off two hours.
For smaller businesses with 20-35 employees, it is easier to have a party on weekend evenings. In that case, Bayou Axe Co. would reserve the last four to six lanes and still offer catered food.
To reserve your office party or team building, call 318-588-5095 or email [email protected].