More than a space to go axe-throwing

Lee Reinsch

Contributor

March 20, 2024

SHEBOYGAN — When you see the name Longhouse Axe Bar, you may think you know exactly what is housed inside the building — axes, wood and hatchets.

Though Longhouse provides space for people to test their axe-throwing skills, Owner Jeremiah Reynolds said the space offers more than that.

The bar, located at 1133 Indiana Ave. in Sheboygan, also offers an escape room and gaming area — as well as a late-night catering business.

Handcrafting a life
Reynolds and his wife, Nicole, bought the 1921 red-brick building that would become Longhouse Axe Bar in October 2019.

Before the bar, Reynolds said the building previously housed The Mixx Design Center, an upscale furnishing store and a furniture warehouse before that.

“It is a thing to behold because it is not like a normal place,” he said.

Reynolds said when the real estate agent was walking him through the building, he didn’t even have to tour the second-floor main area — he walked a few steps into it and said he instantly knew what it beckoned to become.

“I said, ‘well, this is where the axe bar is going,’ and I turned right back downstairs,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t need to walk around.”

Horizontal boards line the axe-throwing lanes, which he said are partially screened to shield from flying hatchets.

The throwing axes weigh about a pound each, so they can sail with little effort, and the blades are sharp.

Closed-toe shoes are mandatory in the area.

The bar can host about 90 people, and the entire building can accommodate 200.

Longhouse Axe Bar Owner Jeremiah Reynolds said the throwing axes weigh about a pound each, so they can sail with little effort, and the blades are sharp. Closed-toe shoes are also mandatory in the area. Submitted Photo

It has grade-level entrances on both floors so people can come in at the bar upstairs, or they can come in at the storefront downstairs.

“What you see when you are at my location is close to what I immediately saw in my head when I walked up there,” he said.

Reynolds said he did the majority of the interior work himself, which he gives thanks to his upbringing for.

“My dad was a homeowner who made and fixed his own stuff, and my stepdad was a homeowner who made and fixed his own stuff,” he said. “I’m not afraid of framing walls and doing general construction work.”

The owner said he did have additional help along the way from relatives and a woodworker friend.

“It was a wonderful process of creative expression by people who aren’t necessarily experts,” he said. “We did it ourselves, and it looks homemade.”

Unlocking more than doors
Escape Sheboygan, the escape rooms on the lower level of Longhouse Axe Bar, are meant for team-building exercises during the work day before the axe-throwing leagues arrive.

When a group comes in, Reynolds said they will discuss personality styles and how they impact work habits, according to Myers-Briggs and other personality-type indicators.

“Then we throw you into an escape room and watch you demonstrate the things we talked about because an escape room is a wonderful means of getting people to discuss things,” he said.

Tanya Lulloff, director of global human resources with Kohler Energy, said she recently brought her team of managers and leaders to the escape rooms.

“Our team building event reminded us that collaboration is the key to unlocking our collective potential,” she said.

Lulloff said one of her team members had only been with Kohler for a week.

“It’s a great way to integrate them into the team in a fun way and help fast-track some of that relationship-building,” she said.
Lulloff and her team managed to escape with 17 minutes to spare.

“They are good for that kind of communication tool,” Reynolds said of the escape rooms, which he designs himself.

On top of the escape rooms, there is also a space for games such as pinball and Skee-Ball.

The first floor of the 13,000-square-foot building boasts large windows Reynolds said practically demand some kind of a retail store.

So, Longhouse sells board games and other items on consignment, plus local artists use the space as a showroom.

Earlier this month, they held a salvage art show.

Entrants get to display and sell their work commission-free.

Fueling up employees
After the axe leagues and recreational throwers have dispersed, Reynolds said there’s a good chance the lights will still be on in the Longhouse kitchen.

He said some of the largest companies in the county call the Longhouse kitchen when they’re looking to say ‘thank you’ to their shift workers, in which he said he will make off-hour food deliveries.

Reynolds said he recently finished building his commercial-grade kitchen, and his industrial catering gig is well on its way.

It’s hard to find caterers willing to deliver hot food to workers on second and third shifts, but Reynolds said he doesn’t mind staying up late to feed people.

Since catering outside of weddings brings in less revenue, he said only a few food service providers are eager to cater to the industrial sector.

“Weddings deserve those high prices because they’re high stress, high demand,” he said. “It’s the most important day of someone’s life.”

With the companies he caters for, Reynolds said he can saunter in with a couple of Nescos and freshly made sloppy joes or pulled pork.

“Nobody necessarily wants a fancy catered meal on the shop floor,” he said. “These are appreciation meals I am providing, reward meals — ‘congratulations, you’ve gone X number of days with nobody cutting their hands off’ (meals).”

As a former chef for the American Club, Blue Harbor and Bellagio Las Vegas, Reynolds said he prides himself on providing good eats.

“I try to stay humble — because I’m a Midwestern guy — but I’m a good cook,” he said.

Part of that, he said, involves using fresh and local ingredients, such as slow roasting his pulled pork in 15-2 Stout, a beer made by Three Sheeps Brewing in Sheboygan and using Sheboygan hard roll — “the best bread in the world” — which is in walking distance from Longhouse.

For more information on Longhouse Axe Bar, visit longhouseaxebar.com or find it on Facebook.