New Rage Room In Toms River Will Let You Smash Away Stress

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to take a sledgehammer to your computer and turn it into a pile of parts?

A new business coming to Toms River will let you do just that.

Smashin' City Rage Room has scheduled its grand opening for April 4 at 1515 Route 37 East, in the plaza that's home to The Love Shack, said Delovi Canales, who is opening the business with his wife, Esther. The event will begin at 4 p.m.

A rage room is a specially designed place where patrons can put on protective gear, grab a hammer or a baseball bat, blast music and smash away, whether it's crushing dishes because you're sick of cleaning the kitchen, or whacking away at a computer and other equipment because you're aggravated with work.

"It's a way to let some stress out in a fun and safe environment," Canales said. It will be the second "rage room" establishment in New Jersey — the other is in Hackensack — but the Canaleses are working to make sure their rage room has its own style. In addition to sledgehammers or baseball bats, they will be offering golf clubs and cricket bats, plus other possible weapons.

"You enter into a specially designed room, we provide you with your (personal protective equipment), select your weapon of destruction, blast your favorite music and have a smashing good time breaking almost everything in the room to pieces (except the actual room itself). When you’re done you don’t even have to worry about cleaning up, we take care of that for you.

The couple were inspired to start the business after seeing a rage room portrayed on a TV show.

"My wife and I are heavily involved with the church," Canales said. "We went to a conference a couple of years ago and a pastor said, 'God told me to let you know he has a vision for a business.' " Six months later, another pastor at another event told them the same thing. The TV show planted the seed, and they have spent the last year working to bring the vision to fruition.

Part of that has been acquiring materials to be smashed, and Canales said he and his wife have found a number of sources to collect items, which they've stockpiled at home and in storage units ahead of the business opening.

Delovi Canales owns Canales Distributions — it delivers mailbag mailers to homes from Beachwood south to Little Egg Harbor — and he had told his delivery personnel to pick up items they see left out for bulk disposal that would be good for smashing, such as furniture.

Esther Canales, who is a receptionist in a dermatologist’s office, has collected items posted for giveaway on Facebook groups.

They've also connected with a woman who manages estate sales in the Atlantic City area, and she allows them to pick up items that don't sell after a sale — items that would simply be trashed otherwise.

Once patrons of Smashin City finish taking their frustrations out on the computers or dishes or whatever else they smash, Canales said a private disposal company will pick them up and recycle the items.

Smashin' City will offer different packages, too, for people who want to smash alone, with friends or for a couple's night out. The 20-minute sessions cost $40 for one person for the "Mood Swing" package, $70 for the two-person "Temper Tantrum" and $100 for the "Fit of Fury" smash session for three or four people.

The couple's night packages are 30 minutes and include "Love Is Being Stupid Together," "You're The Cheese to My Macaroni" and the "You Are The Nutella To My Spoon" deals.

The grand opening will be from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on April 4. The hours are tentatively Mondays through Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. It is BYOB.

"You know how in stores they have signs saying, 'You break it, you bought it?' " Canales said. "Our motti is 'At Smashin’ City it's OK to break it because you bought it.' "

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