For years Olivia Bartlett’s husband made a living with his Tracy-based handyman business Andrew’s Maintenance until the spread of COVID-19 forced his business operations to stop. Like so many other business owners in the area, the Bartletts found themselves at a crossroads as they scrambled to find a way to support their family.
“We have four kids so it was like, ‘well, what do we do?’” Bartlett said.
Amid the frustration of the situation Bartlett found inspiration in an unlikely place — rage.
Drawing from an idea she had four years ago, Bartlett decided to switch the family business from repair to destruction with the opening of the Rage Room Stanislaus in Salida, a unique attraction its operators hope will help others release their pint up frustrations.
“It was just something I wanted to do really, really bad,” Bartlett said. “We put all of our savings, every penny that we had into this.”
As the name suggests, Rage Room Stanislaus is a place to unleash. Providing a safe space to demolish a number of objects with the help of various weapons, the rage room proved to be a hit with locals during its August grand opening.
“We had the best first customers we could have asked for,” Bartlett said. “I think this is going to be something that is fun for people to come do that is also therapeutic.”
“It’s been described as stress relief through controlled destruction,” she added.
With a reservation system in place via their Facebook page, Stanislaus Rage Room offers a variety of packages for its customers based on the size of the items that will be smashed and battered as well as the time allotted to do so. There is also an option to bring your own items to rage out on.
Groups of three to five are allowed to visit per session but as of now only one person is allowed to participate in the mayhem at a time. Individuals participating in the destruction are provided with coveralls, leather gloves, safety glasses, a face shield, hard hat and ear protectors.
Though there are currently limitations in place in terms of participation and weapon selection, there are already plans to expand which includes a larger area to allow multiple people to destroy a number of items, including vehicles, with custom-made weapons to accompany the already available crowbars, sledgehammers and 2x4s.
There are also talks of lowering the minimum age to participate from 18 to 13.
“I feel like we have gotten so lucky. I don’t even know where it came from. It’s amazing,” Bartlett said. “I can’t even really describe it with words.”
STANISLAUS RAGE ROOM
5628 Pirrone Road
Salida, CA 95368
CONTACT
209-214-8282
www.stanrageroom.com
HOURS
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday
Closed Monday and Tuesday