For Justin Lewis, all-around entertainment is the name of the game.
“People don’t want to stop by and just waste a couple hours,” said Lewis, president of Full Throttle Adrenaline Park, which recently acquired Steel City Karting behind the Monroeville Mall. “We take a lot of pride in delivering a really fun experience.”
On Aug. 2, Lewis was in town as work crews continued renovating the inside of what will become Full Throttle.
“The former owner was 100% karting,” said Lewis, who lives in Louisville, Ky. “We’re looking to add some other things to broaden the appeal and give people more ways to enjoy themselves.”
That includes shifting the conference rooms and corporate event area to the rear of the facility to make way for a row of targets where customers can throw axes.
“It’s got that same kind of adrenaline rush to it as the karts,” Lewis said. “So people can race, get amped up and then come throw axes for an hour while they have a beer.”
Full Throttle has locations in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. Monroeville will be its first Pennsylvania location.
Lewis plans to add a full-service kitchen, bar and concession area, with seating situated along a large curve in the main go-kart track, as well as a sizable arcade.
One of the most distinctive features will be what Lewis called the “rage room,” where customers can don a hard hat, coveralls and other safety attire, and spend a few minutes literally smashing televisions, glass bottles and other items.
“We have a pretty good relationship with Walmart to get old TVs or damaged stuff that people have returned,” Lewis said. “And we’re going to have a window so that not only can you watch people in the ‘rage room,’ but we’ll open it up for maybe 15 minutes an hour and people can just chuck glass bottles at the wall. It’s a great stress reliever.”
Lewis said his goal is to have the activities at Full Throttle ready to open by early September, with the food-service aspects wrapped by early October.
A quick look at renovation work happening in the former Steel City Karting in Monroeville, which will become Full Throttle Adrenaline Park's first PA location in the fall. @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/6d5nnl3Adh
— Patrick Varine – Tribune-Review (@VarineTrib) August 2, 2022
He’s looking forward to helping customers create great memories.
“There are birthdays and corporate events, but we’ve also had milestone stuff happen at our facilities,” Lewis said. “We’ve had a family come spend an evening when the dad was being deployed in the military the next day. We want to be able to provide folks with a lot of fun and memories that can last a lifetime.”
For more, see GoFullThrottle.com.
