Business partners Jerry Hendricks, foreground, and Don Lincoln survey the worksite of their upcoming axe-throwing bar and restaurant, Axe & Ale Taphouse. (Jon Decker/The Laconia Daily Sun photo)
Business partners Don Lincoln, left, and Jerry Hendricks stand in the future site of Axe & Ale Taphouse, an upcoming bar, restaurant and axe-throwing venue in Gilford. (Jon Decker/The Laconi aDaily Sun photo)
Business partners Jerry Hendricks, foreground, and Don Lincoln survey the worksite of their upcoming axe-throwing bar and restaurant, Axe & Ale Taphouse. (Jon Decker/The Laconia Daily Sun photo)
Business partners Don Lincoln, left, and Jerry Hendricks stand in the future site of Axe & Ale Taphouse, an upcoming bar, restaurant and axe-throwing venue in Gilford. (Jon Decker/The Laconi aDaily Sun photo)
GILFORD — Sharpen your skills and grab a drink, as Lakes Region locals and tourists will soon have the opportunity to throw axes, enjoy beverages and savor a meal right next to the Gilford Cinema 8 movie theater.
The incoming Axe & Ale Taphouse marks the second axe-throwing venue in the area, following Climaxe's successful establishment adjacent to the Belknap Marketplace in Belmont last year. The growth of these businesses highlights the region's enthusiasm for combining hatchet throwing with socializing and drinks.
Currently under construction, Axe & Ale is the brainchild of owners and business partners Don Lincoln and Jerry Hendricks, who shared their story and motivation for starting the venture.
“We thought we needed it here,” Lincoln said. “We went on a trip together about a year and a half ago and went to a few axe-throwing venues. We were like, ‘Northern New Hampshire needs something like this.' And then we just decided to put our heads together and both our backgrounds, and we came up with this plan.”
The duo aims to create an all-in-one bar, restaurant and axe-throwing venue, complete with a direct door to the movie theater. According to Lincoln, the space was once home to the Globe department store. In recent years, it was used for a local flea market, but has largely remained vacant.
“It seems like there's a void for entertainment in the area,” Hendricks explained. “A lot of people come up here and and have nothing to do at night, so this seemed like a good thing to mix everything together between dinner and axe-throwing and a bar.”
Hendricks added that they plan to stay open as late as 9 or 10 p.m.
“We’re not really sure yet" about the later hours, Lincoln said. “We’ve also partnered with the movie theater. We have an entrance into them, so people there could come here and get a drink, or something to eat, or throw axes while their kids are at the movie, or something like that.”
Lincoln explained that the building's landlord introduced him to the theater’s owner.
“They were excited about having this type of venue right next to them" with food, Hendricks said. “You know, everyone wants to go out to dinner and then a movie.”
As the pair spoke, construction workers hammered away at the 13 throwing lanes, dining areas and kitchen. With May just around the corner, the entrepreneurs are pushing to complete construction.
“It’s going to be tight,” Hendricks said. “It’s a tight schedule. So we’re going to finish up probably the second week of May, God willing, then we’re going to open up.”
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