The Splatter Place opened in North Augusta nearly a month ago, to more than a little fanfare. The colorful blend of amusement and art has proven a lucrative draw for locals in its first weeks.
The unconventional enterprise entails corralling parties of patrons in blacklit rooms, fitted with protective goggles and ponchos, armed with brushes or paint bombs, who have some 25 minutes to paint the room red—or, perhaps, hot pink or neon green.
The concept, where curious customers can freely unleash their creative side by wildly splattering paint of all colors, is a more family-friendly alternative to the roughly comparable “rage rooms.”
“It’s like a rage room without the rage,” said manager Matt Fletcher.
Rather than smashing objects with clubs and bats, painters can get a therapeutic catharsis by making iridescent messes on their own canvases and have their own works of art to take home as a memento.
“It’s a way to let off some steam without that destructive component, and somebody else is cleaning up the mess after you,” said co-owner Brandy Gonsolus. “We take down to 12 months of age… I think the oldest we’ve had was in her 80s! All ages can come, no artistic ability is needed. Just have fun.”
Brandy and Chris Gonsolus, who transplanted to the CSRA seven years ago, were inspired to launch the artsy outlet when their daughter took her son to a similar spot in Longview, Texas.
“I saw how much fun they had, I saw the pictures of my grandson’s face just lighting up, and I was like, ‘there’s nothing like that here,” Brandy Gonsolus said.
The Splatter Place’s regular 25-minute session has proven its biggest seller since opening on July 6. Gonsolus notes that birthday parties and date nights have also been popular.
“Into our third weekend, we’ve have had birthday parties every weekend,” she said. “It’s something different, something unique that’s not Chucky Cheese.”
A “silver” birthday package gets up to 10 people a full hour, and the “gold” package allows a party of 11 to 20 people across the two incandescent paint rooms for 90 minutes.
As the Splatter Place stays open until midnight, it even offers a BYOB adults group option, where 15 to 25 patron painters aged 21 and older can rent out the facility for an hour and a half.
The Gonsoluses have already received a return customer, and prospective painters are often already eager to decorate the walls in dyes by the time it opens for business as 2 p.m. Some local businesses have even reached out about scheduling team building sessions, Gonsolus said.
The entrepreneurs are already thinking ahead as the popularity is yet to subside. The business is already promoting different discounts for seniors, teachers and the disabled on social media.
“And if we keep growing like it looks like we’re going to grow, we expand,” Gonsolus said.
The Splatter Place is at 614 East Martintown Rd. in North Augusta. For more information visit its website at https://thesplatterplace.com.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
