{"id":17,"date":"2025-05-02T08:10:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/will-trendy-axe-throwing-and-escape-room-businesses-last-more-experience-based-retail-the-hat-bar\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T08:10:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:10:18","slug":"will-trendy-axe-throwing-and-escape-room-businesses-last-more-experience-based-retail-the-hat-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/will-trendy-axe-throwing-and-escape-room-businesses-last-more-experience-based-retail-the-hat-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing the discussion on experience-based businesses, what happens after everyone in town tries it? Do these businesses go away? Sheila Scarborough posed the question this way: How do all these axe-throwing and escape room places think they\u2019re going to stay in business past a few years? Main Street Expert Jackie Wolven weighed in: In a [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Continuing the discussion on experience-based businesses<\/a>, what happens after everyone in town tries it? Do these businesses go away?<\/p>\n

Sheila Scarborough posed the question this way:<\/p>\n

\n

How do all these axe-throwing and escape room places think they’re going to stay in business past a few years?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Main Street Expert Jackie Wolven weighed in:<\/p>\n

\n

In a tourist community they might be ok if they keep it fresh. But like any small biz, if they aren\u2019t making money they will close and move onto something else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was also thinking with the current popularity of shows like Game of Thrones, Last Kingdom and Outlander\u2026 the axe throwing probably is a cultural phenomenon. And the true crime fandom is just as rabid which might be driving escape rooms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Hat Bar: customize your own hat<\/h2>\n

We’ve talked before about the candle bar in Bellefontaine, Ohio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Get your own custom western hat in Caldwell, Kansas. Photo via Rustic Longhorn Co facebook page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In Caldwell, Kansas, there’s a retail business called Rustic Longhorn Co<\/a>. that features a hat bar. I had to ask what a “hat bar” even was. They sell hats you can customize on site. Pick a cowboy hat or trucker cap. Pick your hat band, patches or other decorations. Assemble your personalized hat right there in the shop.<\/p>\n

Won’t people get tired of making hats?<\/h2>\n

But how many customized hats does this town really need? They do get a lot of western-theme tourism, so it may have staying power.<\/p>\n

When everyone in town has enough hats, they can swap it out for a new experience later.\u00a0<\/strong>The store as a whole remains, even as the experiences change.<\/p>\n

Every small town business has to work at keeping their offerings fresh and relevant.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Advertising the hat bar in the window draws in new customers for the Rustic Longhorn Co. in Caldwell, Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing the discussion on experience-based businesses, what happens after everyone in town tries it? Do these businesses go away? Sheila Scarborough posed the question this way: How do all these axe-throwing and escape room places think they\u2019re going to stay in business past a few years? Main Street Expert Jackie Wolven weighed in: In a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-income"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeincome.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}