Urban Axes of Somerville has been hanging on while awaiting the further lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

By Alex Reidy

Axe throwing is quickly being made popular by Urban Axes across the country, and here in Somerville, with a fun business model that caters to the young, the old, the amateur and the expert by providing an entertaining and unique experience like no other.

The employees at the Somerville location all help make axe throwing as memorable an experience as any, and providing it with the charm to keep customers coming back for more.

But like all businesses, Urban Axes has suffered during the pandemic, dropping from 40 employees to 20 in the Somerville location. Their first reopening was delayed by Mayor Curtatone until September 17, a full 10 weeks longer than similar facilities across Massachusetts were permitted to reopen, due to Somerville’s stricter regulations regarding re-openings.

As cases rose again in December, co-owner Matt Paton said he supported a second closure in December of last year, and Urban Axes had already independently reduced their capacity prior to the second shutdown.

Paton has said that he was grateful for the federal, state and local financial support they have received to keep their business afloat, but remained frustrated with what he felt was Mayor Curtatone’s continued refusal to engage in meaningful discussions with the Somerville business community, while the rest of the Massachusetts reopens following the state’s plans.

Currently, Urban Axes is complying with all restrictions set by Somerville, with the city permitting it to increase their capacity this week from 12.5% to 25%, compared to the 50% capacity for their business type across the Commonwealth.

Urban Axes is supporting their employees that choose to get vaccinated, paying for six hours of time off so they can receive a vaccine. The business is not going to mandate a vaccination to enter, but Paton and his wife Krista (also a co-owner of Urban Axes), believed in COVID-19 vaccination enough that they volunteered for and were part of Cambridge based Moderna’s Phase 3 vaccination trial in August of 2020, and are still participating in that trial.

Paton is hoping that by June Somerville will lift restrictions of capacity, as data would suggest that most people would have received their vaccination by then. He says that their league community is the most rewarding part of their businesses, with league members trusting Urban Axes to run safe, distanced and masked events, often being the only social outlet people chose during the very isolating pandemic.

At this time, Urban Axes is looking forward to a good showing of mothers with their families on Mother’s Day. You can book online at https://urbanaxes.com/boston/mothersday.