Beards & Broads set to open second location in Broadway

Published: Aug. 12, 2022 at 6:17 PM EDT

BROADWAY, Va. (WHSV) - The Town of Broadway will welcome a new business on Saturday. Beards & Broads axe throwing is set to open a second location in the town.

“I grew up here, I graduated from Broadway in 1999 and we just wanted to bring something to the community that’s fun. We wanted to give people a place to hang out and be entertained, get some great food, and have things to do,” said Jay Roderick, co-owner of Beards & Broads.

Roderick and his brother-in-law Kyle McQuillan are co-owners of Beards & Broads. They considered opening the original Beards & Broads location in Broadway three years ago but it didn’t work out and they went with a location in Harrisonburg.

“Now we have a few years of experience under our belt, we’re pretty well connected in the community and now we’re finally coming back to that hometown,” said McQuillian.

Three years later, Broadway is excited to welcome them.

“When you have a business like this, a restaurant like this that is diverse and offers so much I think that really adds to the town and really adds to the community so we’re really excited about it,” said Broadway Town Manager Kyle O’Brien.

Broadway has had a number of new businesses come to the town over the last year and O’Brien said that Beards & Broads will help to drive even more people to the town and its other businesses.

“We feel like we’re at the cusp of a lot of really exciting things happening with the trail coming to Broadway and a lot of other economic development initiatives. So we’re very excited to have this new business and restaurant coming to town,” he said.

Beards & Broads’ new Broadway location is significantly larger than the original in Harrisonburg and will offer even more to customers. It is complete with a bar and a large pizza oven.

“Axe throwing is our main event but we do have other table games. We’ve got tons of beer and wine, we’ve got great food, we’re gonna have live music and eventually, we’re gonna expand this space and make it more. We want to hire local people, entertain local people, and give back to the community,” said Roderick.

Roderick said that for those interested in organized axe throwing competitions, the Harrisonburg location will remain the spot for World Axe Throwing League competitions.

Both McQuillian and Roderick are veterans and Beards & Broads is closely connected to the Living Waters Freedom Initiative. The owners are also committed to supporting local first responders.

“We stand behind all of our local heroes. We’re hosting a private event tonight just to bring the local heroes of Broadway in. The Broadway Fire, Broadway Police, and Broadway Rescue squad will be here and we’re gonna feed them for free,” said Roderick.

For Kyle McQuillan, the best part about running Beards & Broads is that axe throwing is all about technique so it’s something that anyone can enjoy.

“We’ve had as young as six, seven years old throwing with their parents in the shop. We’ve had as old as 90, and we’ve had people who have disabilities such as being in a wheelchair. Believe it or not, we’ve actually had a few people from a local blind school come in and throw which was unique and amazing at the same time,” he said.

The grand opening of the Broadway location is set for Saturday at 11 a.m.

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