Axes and Aces is a Lively Destination For Family Entertainment in North Platte

North Platte – Axes and Aces is carving a niche for family entertainment in North Platte with ax-throwing cages, golf simulators and pickleball courts served with up-scale burgers, sandwiches and pizza.

Situated near Lake Maloney and open since October 2023, Axes and Aces is the brainchild of Lisa Citta, a sergeant on the North Platte Police Department who oversees the Investigations Division, and Brian Schimek, a salesman in the food and beverage industry. Citta serves as the office manager and Schimek is the general manager.

The idea was sparked by Citta’s gift of a weekend in Kansas City to her nephew, who had graduated from high school and was headed to boot camp with the U.S. Marines. It was during the Covid pandemic, and very few venues were open, she recalls. “We were down in the Power and Light District,” she says. “There were two places open, and one was an ax-throwing place.”

Two years later, Citta and her mother, Karen, made the same trip with her teenage niece. They went back to the ax-throwing venue, and each of them enjoyed the experience. “My niece was 15 or 16, I was 34 at the time and mom was 70, but we all had a blast there,” she says. “I started thinking North Platte needed something like this.”

Schimek was initially reluctant about an ax-throwing venue, Citta recalls. “But we’re both avid golfers, and he suggested we add golf simulators,” she says.

In January, 2022, Citta reached out to Charlie McPherson with the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) in North Platte for assistance developing a business plan. She was aware of the NBDC and its services from an earlier project as a member of the Lincoln County Fair Board.

Citta and Schimek spent 18 months scouring the area for a building that would fit their needs before deciding on a former auto repair and paint shop near Lake Maloney. “We needed a place big enough for a restaurant and the simulators, and we’d gained some interest from local pickleball groups,” she says. “Plus, we needed plenty of parking.”

They returned to the NBDC, working with Moraine Davis-Magnuson, the North Platte Center Director, to update and finalize their business plan.

“Moraine had a tremendous impact,” Citta says. “We were trying to obtain funding from our local bank, the SBA (Small Business Administration) and from the Chamber of Commerce. When we submitted our business plan along with the financials from the bank, the president of the chamber said it was the most detailed, comprehensive plan he’d ever seen.”

She and Schimek did the majority of the remodeling themselves. “Two years later, it’s all still standing,” Citta says, chuckling.

They did several food tastings in order to finalize the restaurant menu, developed chiefly by Schimek, who has access to chefs and a test kitchen in Lincoln. The only full restaurant near Lake Maloney, Citta says customers appreciate the unique variety of food and the spring and fall feature menus.

Also popular are the “Axes and Alibis: A Cold Case File Challenge” events, where teams of up to eight “detectives” work to solve a mystery in two hours. The mysteries are held the last Thursday every month.

Citta says Axes and Aces (referring to a hole-in-one in golf) has built a loyal following and is attracting corporate get-togethers. There has been one big surprise, though. “We thought summertime would be our gravy, but it’s actually wintertime that we are packed,” she says. “The ax-throwing cages are full, and the golf simulators are booked from 10 am to 10 pm every weekend.”

No matter the season, Axes and Aces is quickly becoming a target destination for locals and visitors alike.