Jason Fallwell was waiting at a traffic light in Tucson, Arizona, in 2018, when he saw a business had opened in a vacant building where people could smash things “in a place where it is socially accepted” and not worry about breakage or cleanup.
“I had never seen anything like that,” Fallwell said. “So, I booked it for my anniversary for my wife, [Jaime], and so we went and did it, and it was a good time.”
His two high school-aged sons, Evan and Tyler, also loved it. So the family began thinking of setting up a similar business in Austin, a city they thought they could call home.
The couple waited for the COVID-19 pandemic to wane, and on April 17, 2021, opened The Breaking Point, 12233 N. RM 620, Ste.109, Austin. The business is designed like a rage room but has more options.
The business does not allow alcohol, requires closed-toed shoes and provides participants with full-body overalls, a hard hat, goggles and gloves before embarking on the breaking spree, which actually has an organized plan.
Different areas of The Breaking Point include a splatter room, where children as young as 3 can splash paint on the walls, floor or a canvas; the rage room, where one can play baseball with bottles or destroy a fax machine; a weapon-throwing room where one can throw axes; and an escape room, where participants solve a mystery.
“The business itself is just innovative entertainment,” said Fallwell, who previously worked in retail management.
The concept of getting rid of pent-up stress or anger by going to a rage room is not new in Austin, but to have four different rooms to choose from when one hits the supposed “breaking point” is something Fallwell said sets his concept apart.
Fallwell said people bring their families, or couples come to have fun on a date night.
“You can go to miniature golf, and how many movies are you going to go to? ... This is just something different,” he said.
The Breaking Point
12233 N. RM 620, Ste. 109, Austin
737-270-4790
www.thebreakingpointaustintx.com
Hours: Wed.-Sun. noon-8 p.m., closed Mon.-Tue.
