‘We’ve basically built our own adult playground’ Smash n Axe Arcade Disco opens in former Nor Villa Hotel banquet room on blueprint of nostalgia By: Aaron Epp Posted: 5:35 PM CDT Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

The dream of the ‘90s is alive in North Kildonan, and it’s been given a 2025 twist.

Adam Dudek and Raj Maniar have fond memories of visiting arcades 30 years ago, playing games and seeing the designs on the carpets glow under black lights. So when they were decorating Smash n Axe Arcade Disco, the River East neighbourhood business they opened on Wednesday, they decided to give it a neon splash.

“We really wanted to bring people back in time and give them the feeling they had when they were a kid,” Dudek said.

Located in the basement of the Nor Villa Hotel (1763 Henderson Hwy.), Smash n Axe features more than 20 arcade games, including 11 pinball machines.

There are also attractions that have only become popular in recent years, including two rage rooms where patrons can shatter household objects. “We call them ‘smash rooms’ to bring down the aggression just a touch,” Maniar said.

People who walk through the doors of the age 18+ locale will immediately see four lanes for augmented reality axe throwing, which uses projection technology so patrons can throw at interactive targets.

“We really wanted to bring people back in time and give them the feeling they had when they were a kid.”

On one side of the room is a bar where people can grab a drink, including beer from at least six local brewing companies. Opposite the bar is a raised area decorated to resemble a living room, complete with a TV and Nintendo 64 emulator so patrons can play their favourite 1990s video games.

There’s a lot going on — and that’s by design.

Dudek and Maniar were hanging out last summer when the longtime friends started talking about opening a rage room. It didn’t strike Maniar as a viable long-term business until they discussed adding axe throwing, a bar and arcade games — elements they hope will keep customers around longer than the average rage room.

It’s not the friends’ first foray into business.

Maniar has 25 years of experience in the food service industry, including stints as a managing partner at Barley Brothers and as a sales manager at Torque Brewing. Meanwhile, Dudek was a co-founder of 3 Guys Greens, an urban vertical farm that operated from 2016 to 2022.

The partners signed a lease at the Nor Villa in March, and soon began renovating the former banquet hall. Dudek said he was drawn to the location because he lives nearby in East Kildonan and believes there aren’t enough entertainment options for people in the area — especially for people who are 18 and older.

The business is open from 4 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.

Smash rooms can accommodate one to four people and cost $40 per person for 30 minutes. That includes 20 items to smash; patrons can purchase larger items to smash, such as computers and TVs, for an additional fee.

Axe throwing costs $40 per person for an hour, with up to four people allowed in each lane. There are happy hours every day from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the bar sells food from Bull & Filly, the restaurant on the hotel’s main floor.

Dudek and Maniar said they are considering opening the business to minors at certain hours, depending on demand.

In the meantime, they welcome anyone who was old enough to frequent Magicland on Portage Avenue or Excalibur in the Garden City mall to come to stop in and relive the arcade days of their youth.

“We’ve basically built our own adult playground that we want to be in and we hope other people will want to be here, too,” Maniar said.

The Nor Villa is a busy place, said manager Noele Gauthier. The 53-year-old hotel offers a variety of amenities, including a restaurant, bar and live music venue, VLT lounge, laundromat and cannabis store. Management is happy to have Smash n Axe in the building.

“We’re excited for it,” Gauthier said. “We hope it’s successful.”

Being in the Nor Villa has been positive for Kris and Corinne Kopansky, who opened Bull & Filly in June 2024. The restaurant can seat 120 people and recently started a catering operation.

The Kopanskys are looking forward to providing food to Smash n Axe patrons.

“It’s a heck of a lot of fun to have them down there,” Kris Kopansky said.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca