Axe-throwing bar craze spreading to downtown La Crosse

Count La Crosse among the latest cities to embrace the axe-throwing craze.

Axe-throwing bars have been popping up over just the last several months in nearby cities like Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Des Moines.

Now local business owner Toby Farley wants to put The Driftless Axe, his touring axe-throwing business, in a bar in downtown La Crosse.

Farley says his place will be a bar mostly in terms of the liquor license he needs to open it.

“The big thing isn’t as much it’s a bar.  It’s an experience,” Farley said.

He imagines eventual league play at his bar.  Not unlike bowling or dart leagues.

“There’s lanes and you’re throwing something.  The real difference is the proverbial cutting edge,” he quipped.

Farley hopes to open The Driftless Axe in mid-September at fourth and Jay Streets. While most of his business will center on the axe throwing side of things, Farley will also have food.

The city council will decide on his application for a liquor license for the Driftless Axe next month.