An announcement from Don and Chopper's Hatchet House

Last night, Don (the recently-minted owner of Choppers Hatchet House) reached out to me over messenger. We don't interact much, really, and I kinda suspected the reason he'd be sending me a message on a Monday evening. For the sake of not keeping you in suspense, let me just say two things and then get to the bulk of what he asked to share, here.

1. Don swears to me that this is a real announcement (something he had to do, given the marketing tactics of previous owners), and one he wants to get out as quickly as possible.

2. The content of this announcement is a summation of what we discussed, and all as accurate as I can make it.

This time, for real, Chopper's Hatchet House is closing its operations in Cherry Hill. Due in part to the current lease ending (and the new lease rent being an increase of 25%), and in part to Don and Gianna expecting a child within a month. Don expressed that it's a hard time for small businesses, especially axe houses, and he needed to make the smart decision for his growing family. Chopper's lease is up November 30th. Choppers will stop taking bookings mid-November as a result, and Don plans to finish up final league seasons during that month. He's yet to decide if the Black Friday Iron Man will happen at the current or future Chopper's, but stay tuned on that decision as elements of the closure come into focus. To that end: Don is working on securing a new axe house space. This location is not yet 100% secured - as Don put it, there are still some details to iron out, and some hand shaking/paper signing to take place. However, the possible new home for Chopper's will be close to Cherry Hill, so current Chopper's throwers won't, typically, need to travel much farther. But this is an important point: that new location isn't concrete, yet. It's likely, but it's still in early-ish stages, as far as agreements and such go.

So Choptober 2025 truly is the last Choptober at the current location, and if things go sideways for whatever reason with securing the new space, the last Choptober for the foreseeable future. If you haven't gotten tickets yet (raffle or otherwise), Don recommends jumping on it for a proper send-off. He plans to draw for the raffle this Thursday.

I asked Don if he has anything he wants to say to the current throwers at Chopper's, and he shared the following, which I think is just as important to include:

To the throwers, the staff, and those that have helped along the way; I took on the responsibility of venue ownership out of a love and respect for the community and the game.

Everything I have done up until this point has been with the interests of those around me in mind. When I took over Chopper’s Hatchet House at the end of last year, I did it because I had the means to. I’ve experienced the loss of a home venue before, and it’s hard.

Like really, really, hard.

If I hadn’t taken it on, we would have had a month's notice 'til the end. I didn’t want that again. The way I see it, even if it has to end, I was able to extend the life of a place that means a lot to so many people. I hope to have an update soon towards relocation, and continue to make this not just a Hatchet House, but a Hatchet Home. If you have follow up questions, feel free to reach out to Don (I won't be any help to you, to be completely honest), or comment here/on the FB post I'll inevitably make after this post goes live. I have supremely high hopes that Don will be able to secure a new location that we can all celebrate, but until that time, I hope to catch you at Choptober to say goodbye to an axe house that so many people in our community have come to love.