If you have ever been out with your friends, gone out with your family, or are trying to find the perfect place for a date, then you may stop by Kick Social at 800 Montana Ave., to find a fun twist on conventional bar games that allow for unforgettable times for all ages.
Kick Social is an entertainment building in El Paso that offers Snookball, a life size version of pool. Snookball uses soccer balls with a proportionally sized table of up to seven or eight feet, to play. You can either move the balls with your feet, or use a pool stick, which allows for various degrees of humorous and fun results.
Kick Social also offers a multitude of arcade video game machines, tabletop games, a variety of drinks and snacks and the liberty to bring your own drinks in too. The entertainment center can also be rented out for social events and can be a platform for outside events.
The business is owned by 37-year-old Julian Huerta and his wife Alyssa Osteika. Born and raised in El Paso, Huerta originally studied mechanical engineering and found the restraints of school unfit for himself. He says he moved to the workforce to maintain a livelihood, working many corporate jobs to sustain himself. He then grew disillusioned with that lifestyle, while still wanting to find his own leadership and ownership of a business.
“I always knew I wanted to be a business owner, I believe it is everyone’s dream,” Huerta said. “I’ve never done too well with bosses, not that I can’t but I never felt like myself.”
Huerta then planned to own a food truck and decided to pursue culinary school since he had a long-time passion for cooking.
However, in California, he found an axe throwing business and knew it was something special. Unable to rid the idea from his head, he discovered El Paso had nothing similar and immediately used his life savings to open up RELAXE: Axe Throwing; an axe throwing business where you throw axes at a target for fun and competition. Like Kick Social, it offers many of the same entertainment benefits and makes an ideal store partner, as they are located right next to each other.
When asked about why he went back to El Paso to start his business, Huerta explained the different markets in Texas cities.
“Dallas and Austin have their own business, with most of the land already bought, but El Paso is right for the taking,” Huerta said. “(There) are still a lot of things we can offer.”
Kick Social started as an expansion of Huerta’s original business, after seeing the popularity of the sport in southeast Asia. Much like RELAXE: Axe Throwing, snookball was entirely missing from El Paso, so he took the opportunity to bring this sport as well.
Huerta always thanks his family for his success, with his wife and mother being his greatest support when he gambled on RELAXE: Axe Throwing. Now, Huerta has no signs of stopping with his business endeavors. He plans to add a paintball, Nerf and a BB gun firing range to RELAXE: Axe Throwing, as well as creating a league contest for axe throwing.
If you are looking for something different or wanting to support local businesses, then Kick Social might be your best choice. Kick Social is located at 800 Montana Ave. with RELAXE: Axe Throwing right next to it. For more information about hours of operation for either business visit kicksocial915.com or relaxeptx.com
Eugenio Cantu is a contributor for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected]
