Ax It Up Hutch – Happy Birthday
This write-up hits home for me because it isn’t just a Hutchinson story of business done well… it’s a story of making sure someone else enjoys a special day. Like many parents failing at some of the basics in life, I had failed to properly plan a day for my son’s 16th birthday. You may need a little back story.
We just got to Hutchinson in September. We moved here from California, and while we were “making it work” in SoCal, we were going backward financially since being laid off in 2020. We scraped together a bunch of things to make the move work, and the activity of the move and getting situated kind of put me behind the eightball… so to speak.
So last minute, I sent a form response through the website of Ax It Up Hutch.
Are You Kidding Me?!?!
I just arrived from SoCal a month prior. Do you think in the seven years that I lived in SoCal, a business ever responded this way? Impressed with the response, I gathered up my guest list and followed their prompts. We did the online waivers, made the reservation, etc. I told my neighbor we were going there and he spouts out “I work with Zack. They are great people.” It seems like everyone knows everyone around here.
When we arrived at 5 pm… we were greeted by one of the owners and her son. Ashley was beyond awesome. She gave a safety presentation and demonstrated the different techniques of throwing and how to diagnose an unsuccessful throw. I was low-key worried I would suck at this sport, but she made it easy to suck at – and improve quickly.
She integrated with the party and encouraged us to play games, and then after some time, brought out a selection of weapons to play with.
- Chinese Stars (can we still call them chinese?)
- Throwing knives
- Batarangs
They have this thing where if you hit one of the two upper dots, you win a free sticker – boom! Sticker.
When it was time for us to go, there was no rush. In fact, Zack (the other owner) arrived and engaged us in a bit of small talk. Ashley put out a confetti birthday balloon to pop with a throw and the birthday event was a huge success.
My heart goes out to this family business as they are doing community right. Why do I say this?
- They edified other local businesses to us
- They chatted about their neighborhood and local real estate
- They became part of the birthday
- They knew me by name when I returned to throw a second time
- They leverage tech to continue the conversation with the customer (Surveys and Emails)
- They allow food and beverages from outside
- They have activities to encourage hanging out (that are free)
Summary
I cannot recommend this establishment enough.
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