CHOP ON: Hollingsworth discusses future plans for The Chopping Block
Published 4:35 pm Tuesday, March 22, 2022
- Daryl Hollingsworth has plans to keep the Chopping Block rocking through the year and will move it to the old J.C. Penney's building next door once ongoing renovations are complete. (Photo by Jeff Byrd)
By Jeff Byrd | Guest Contributor
The Chopping Block in downtown Vicksburg will soon have a new home: the J.C. Penney building next door to its current location on Washington Street.
The Chopping Block axe throwing range owner, Daryl Hollingsworth, said his plans are to have multiple businesses and vendors in the two buildings he owns in downtown Vicksburg. The Chopping Block will remain open in its current location, 1504 Washington St., until the J.C. Penney building has been fully renovated. Hollingsworth said he did not know when that will be.
The premise behind the Chopping Block is simple enough — take an axe that is provided by Hollingsworth’s staff, stand at a mark about 10 feet from the wooded target, and fire away.
“You stand here, you throw to a target. It’s a skill. It’s an Olympic sport,” Hollingsworth said.
However, the Chopping Block uses a smaller axe than is used in competition.
“There is a regulation size,” he said.
The Chopping Block was created when a Pennsylvania man brought the concept to one of Hollingsworth’s friends, Kevin Roberts.
“They put it together, but then COVID-19 hit, so it didn’t generate much money. So they walked away,” Hollingsworth said. “So I got it. I didn’t want to have a vacant space on the storefront. It was worthwhile for me to keep it going. But I admit, before they came along, I had never heard of (axe-throwing).”
As pandemic regulations began to ease in 2021, the Chopping Block gained traction. Hollingsworth advertises the venue as a family activity.
“We want to keep on rocking,” he said.
And, it’s not a restaurant.
“A lot of people come through the door thinking it is (a restaurant),” he said.
Food service, however, is in the future plans when the Chopping Block moves to the J.C. Penney building next door.
“The plan is for us to have three food vendors,” Hollingsworth said while standing on an overlook of his work on the second floor of the J.C. Penney building.
“This is a great old building,” Hollingsworth added. “It was built around 1936. I envision this being a food hall. We’ll have vendors inside, and the Chopping Block will move to the basement. You can see all the room we have here.”
Once he can move the Chopping Block to the J.C. Penney’s building, the current Chopping Block location will be renovated into a real estate and a tax accountant office.
“My significant other, Amber Morton, is a CPA, and this will be her new office,” Hollingsworth said.
Morton currently has an office at 1301 Monroe St. in Vicksburg.
Until then, Hollingsworth said things will chop on at the Chopping Block.
“We have Ladies Night on Thursday and College Night on Friday,” he said.
The Chopping Block is open Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m.
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