PORT NECHES — Avenue Axe, Port Neches’s new axe-throwing hangout, opened just July 25, and they’re ‘axe-ing’ the community to come check them out.

Located at 1126 Port Neches Avenue, the business’ owners Brett Reeves and Cayce Lyles are hoping a sport that’s trending across the country can catch on in their own back yard.

“It’s a neat way for people to get together,” Reeves said. “It’s a different kind of sport that takes the concept of bowling and darts and combines that together.”

Reeves and Lyles, both of Port Neches, have been kicking around ideas for a business for some time, but went ahead with the new venture after Reeves discovered the sport of axe-throwing while on vacation in Canada last year.

“In the little town of Whistler, where we were at, the number one thing to do was axe-throwing,” Reeves said. “The second day we were there we tried it and we never quit talking about it the rest of the week we were up there. We went and visited an axe-throwing place in Houston and just kept talking about it and finally decided to pull the trigger. We bought the building in December, and seven months later we were ready to open.”

Avenue Axe is also open for everyone to try. Reeves and Lyles encourage people of all ages to come and throw a few axes, and it’s easier than most people might think.

“It’s an even playing field, so you really don’t have to be good at anything,” Lyles said. “By the time they leave, everyone will stick their axes. It’s a good time.”

Throwers are given a hatchet-sized axe, weighing 1.25 to 1.75 pounds with a 12- to 14- inch handle. They stand at the end of a caged range, 12 feet away from their wooden target. All it takes is a single rotation while in the air for the axe to stick.

Coaches, here known as ‘AXEperts,’ will show throwers the proper technique, make adjustments for distance according to the thrower’s height, and manage the range to make sure throwers, spectators and AXEperts stay safe.

The goal, according to Reeves, is to establish a new family friendly, air-conditioned place to hang out.

“Our driving force to do all of this is that we want to create a place where people can come and have a good time,” he said. “Our families are a part of this and we want their input. Our wives are involved, our kids are here too, so that’s what we want. We want people to bring their families, have a good time, play some games, get competitive, get a little bit of bragging, a little trash talk.”

Walk-ins are currently welcome, but patrons are encouraged to go to the Avenue Axe website and book a time. Patrons should make sure not to wear baggy clothing, high heels or open-toed shoes. Patrons who are intoxicated will also not be allowed to throw.

The price for a 1.5-hour session is $25. AXEperts will spend the first 10-15 minutes teaching throwers how to throw, then throwers will get 20-30 minutes for a game, and the remaining time is reserved for free play.

Axe Avenue’s current hours are 5-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3-10 p.m. Saturday and 2-7 p.m. Sunday, though hours may be subject to change as the new business adjusts its operations.

For more information or to book a time, go to www.avenueaxe.com or visit the business’s Facebook page.