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We smashed things at Break Bar, one of a growing number of 'rage rooms' taking over the US - and found a cathartic retreat from reality
We smashed things at Break Bar, one of a growing number of 'rage rooms' taking over the US - and found a cathartic retreat from reality
Bethany BironMar 8, 2020, 18:17 IST
We visited Break Bar, a "rage room" in New York City, where visitors can come to enjoy a cocktail before smashing everything from their empty glass to printers and computers.
Break Bar is one of a growing number of rage rooms in the US. Today, there are 60 of these venues, where visitors can come blow off steam by destroying household items.
We found the experience extremely cathartic. Here's what it was like.
In the heart of Midtown Manhattan there's a bar where patrons are not just allowed, but actively encouraged, to shatter their empty beer bottles and hurl cocktail glasses against the wall.
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The more adventurous - or perhaps more wrathful - can opt to rent out time in The Wrecking Room to smash household items of their choosing. At Break Bar, destroying things is the entire point.
Break Bar is among the growing number of "rage rooms" proliferating across the country in recent years. In the US, there are an estimated 60 of these venues, places designated for destroying household items, according to CNN.
Tom Daly, founder and owner of Break Bar, said he knew he needed to create something unique if he was truly going to carve out a niche in the Manhattan nightlife scene. While the timing of Break Bar's 2016 opening just so happened to coincide with the rise of a particularly fraught and divisive political climate, he said he doesn't view the bar as "tied to anger or rage at all."
While it can offer catharsis in uncertain times, Daly said he views it more as an off-the-beaten path, refreshing experience.
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"I think of it as game," he said. "It's a fun activity that's outside of the box and new. It's a different experience and it's something unique."
I visited Break Bar on a recent Friday night and experienced the pure, unmitigated joy of smashing bottles firsthand. So cue up The Vaccines, revisit this moment from Freeform's "The Bold Type," and join me for an inside look at what it's like inside a rage room:
Break Bar is located in Midtown Manhattan, on a bustling street in the heart of the city and a prime tourist location.
Daly comped our visit to the bar for the purpose of this review.
As a single lady, I had initially asked to come on Valentine's Day. However, Daly asked that I come the following week because February 14 is one of his busiest days of the year.
Daly said visitors can arrange to print photos of former flames or sources of contempt to use as targets for smashing.
"We get a ton of bachelorette parties," he said.
In addition to jilted lovers, Break Bar brings in a steady stream of young professionals and regularly hosts corporate events, celebrity meet-and-greets, and office happy hours.
"Sometimes we hang up some targets that a corporate culture doesn't like," Daly said, declining to share any specifics.
True to the name, Break Bar does in fact have a bar stocked with beer, wine, and fun cocktails with names like "The Barbara Streisand."
The bar's main attraction is the Throwing Range, where patrons gather empty glasses and throw them against a wall.
Break Bar also takes appointments to The Wrecking Club, a room where visitors can destroy a whole host of household appliances like printers, monitors, flatscreen televisions, and dishes.
Here's a more definitive list of items available for smashing. Daly said he has a staff member fully devoted to procuring items for The Wrecking Club.
Sadly, my friend and I were not able to visit this room due to scheduling difficulties, but here's what the experience looks like.
(I will most definitely be coming back for this.)
Once my friend and I settled in, we got to imbibing. Though we were actively trying to acquire as much glass as possible for smashing purposes, it had also admittedly been a long week.
Once we were done, we gathered our empty glasses and made our way to the Throwing Range. The bar limits the number of people in the room at one time, and everyone is required to wear protective glasses.
The room feels like hanging out in a parking lot, except there are a lot of flashing lights and adrenaline-pumping music courtesy of bands like Rage Against the Machine and the Beastie Boys.
This is me preparing to smash a wine bottle. It was great, I loved it.
Despite the destruction, Daly said sustainability is important to him. All smashed items — from glass bottles to printers — are properly recycled and disposed of accordingly.
"Quite often the things that come into our place would not have gone through recycling channels if they hadn't come through us," he said. "We're another option to make sure this stuff doesn't go through the dump."
Due to factors like noise and safety, Break Bar was an expensive venture, Daly said. "It required a very custom build and we had to hire an architect to design it. A lot of planning went in to designing this place."
Ultimately, my friend and I found Break Bar to be an incredibly cathartic experience, but not something we'd necessarily do regularly.
That said, we do have a particularly contentious presidential election coming up, so I'll see you all there soon.
