The owner of a new darts venue in Hornchurch has called his first week of business “fantastic”.
Independent darts shop and social venue Darts Knight opened in Station Lane on September 27, with eight playing lanes and a range of products in the retail section.
Business owner Dave Knight said it was “brilliant” to see a mix of people playing on opening weekend – including MP Julia Lopez, who he said “loved it”.
Dave told the Recorder: “Opening weekend was so busy, blew my expectations really.
“It was fantastic and lots of families came.
“A lot of the young boys and girls, the standard of them was brilliant.
“We’ve got plenty of bookings coming in, so that’s a good sign.”
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Since the launch, Havering Council has approved Darts Knight’s premises licence application, meaning it can now serve beer and wine when customers book a playing lane.
Dave said this has opened up “more avenues” for the business – including hosting Christmas parties, which he is already taking bookings for.
There are also some plans in the works for Halloween, Dave added, with the shop set to be decorated.
Overall, the entrepreneur told this paper the interest in the playing lanes and the retail area has been split “pretty even” and the customer demographic has been “really mixed”.
“I’ve had the older generation that have come in when it’s quieter through the day,” Dave said.
“Then from afternoon and evening, when the schools are finished, I’ve had the same group of young boys that have come in and they absolutely love it.
“They spend ages in there playing.
“And then at the weekends, we’ve had quite a lot of families and we’ve had couples come and play that are new to darts.
“The feedback when they’ve left has been brilliant.
“You know, they’ve all had a great time.”
